Top aide to ex-PMs Bennett, Lapid: Unlike Netanyahu, they would’ve never denied Oct. 7 responsibility
Former national security adviser Eyal Hulata slams premier at anti-government Tel Aviv rally; police use water cannon on protesters outside PM’s Jerusalem residence, at least 2 detained
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A former national security adviser who served under ex-prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid argued Saturday that they would have never tried to skirt responsibility had the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, happened on their watch, as thousands attended weekly anti-government protests across the country.
“They, too, oversaw events in which the intelligence was unclear but there were dangers,” Eyal Hulata told the largest demonstration at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square. “They gave orders, they demanded answers, and, when needed, they acted. Neither of them would think of evading responsibility and shifting it to others.”
Hulata, who served under the previous government that ended its tenure less than a year before the Hamas attack, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of “escaping its responsibility for the biggest failure since the state’s founding.”
“A responsible prime minister would have heard the unease among intelligence officials and put the intelligence establishment on edge,” he argued. “Netanyahu knows this well, but the Netanyahu of 2023 was unable to do that.”
Meanwhile, police used a water cannon to break up an anti-government protest outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, detaining at least two demonstrators.
Activists said that officers had also injured a demonstrator, retired IDF colonel Shemi Attar, who was taken to the hospital after a cop knocked him on his back. They say that the water cannon contained foul-smelling skunk spray, according to Hebrew media reports.
The crowd of protesters had gathered outside the premier’s home to demand a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the Hamas-led invasion.
Netanyahu opposes a state commission of inquiry, the country’s highest investigative authority, because the judiciary he has sought to weaken would choose its members. He has proposed a controversial, politically appointed investigation instead, but has yet to form any sort of inquiry after more than two years.
Marching to Netanyahu’s home from the President’s Residence, protesters held a banner that read, “Israel will be a democracy.”
Once the protesters reached their destination at Paris Square, police said that “rioters began to block the roads, disrupt traffic in the area while lighting a flare,” prompting the commanding officer at the scene to declare the demonstration illegal.
Police said two were detained. Activists put the number at six, and said police set them free at the scene of the protest after handing them fines.
In footage from the scene, when demonstrators refused to budge, police were seen breaking up the demonstration by force, spraying participants with a water cannon and pushing them onto the sidewalk.
Labor MK Gilad Kariv accused the police of breaking the law in deploying the water cannon. A bill to ban skunk spray is currently moving through the Knesset.
משטרת ירושלים מפעילה מכת״זית (ככה״נ בואש) בירושלים, בניגוד לחוק ולפקודות המשטרה עצמה.
איפה הנחישות של המשטרה במאבק בארגוני הפשיעה? איפה הנחישות שלהם במאבק בשחיתות, בתאונות הדרכים, באלימות בתוך המשפחה?
חכמים על מפגינים. מצפצפים על הפקודות והחוק. pic.twitter.com/8bJ6ZpAZE9
— גלעד קריב (@KarivGilad) February 21, 2026
Later in the evening, right-wing provocateur Mordechai David was detained by police after approaching the home of Lucy Aharish, an Arab Israeli news anchor, with a megaphone.
He was detained for trespassing and disturbing the peace along with another protester, according to Hebrew media outlets. The other person detained was named by Haaretz as Likud activist Rami Ben Yehuda.
David was captured on video arguing with Aharish’s partner, Jewish actor Tsahi Halevi, outside the building. Footage showed Halevi saying: “You’ve come to my home? Where do you want this to go?”
Later, speaking to one of his supporters on camera, David said: “I went to the home of Lucy Aharish to protest, as is allowed in a democratic country.”
הבריון הגיע לבית של לוסי אהריש, אך שכח שגם צחי הלוי גר שם.
להלוי פקעה הסבלנות: אתה תהיה בשקט.
מרדכי דוד: בא לי להפגין נגד אשתך
הלוי: אלי הביתה? אלי הביתה?
מרדכי דוד: כן, מה תעשה לי? בוא, בוא הצידה. אתה רוצה להרביץ לי?
הלוי: לאן אתה רוצה להגיע?
והשוטרים עוד מרחיקים את הלוי.
חרפה. pic.twitter.com/3Y0t5WuKV7— listein (@Lihistein) February 21, 2026
David, who was convicted of attempted arson in 2021, regularly blocks the cars of politicians, journalists and other figures he disagrees with, and harasses them. He has received support from members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, who claim his actions mirror those of anti-government protesters who have regularly blocked roads during the past few years.
Earlier this month, David was questioned by police after blocking the cars of former High Court president Aharon Barak and former prime minister Ehud Barak (no relation).
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.