Israeli premier accuses Shin Bet head of intelligence failure over October 2023 Hamas attacks

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of an intelligence failure over the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, public broadcaster KAN reported.

In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, responding to testimony Bar submitted last week regarding the government's decision to dismiss him, Netanyahu said: “Ronen Bar’s claim that he warned of an impending war and alerted all systems is false. Bar’s handling of the (October 2023) events constitutes the greatest intelligence failure in Israel's history.”

Israeli officials have described the Hamas attack as Israel’s “biggest intelligence and military failure,” severely damaging Israel’s global image and that of its military.

Netanyahu said that “in 2023, Bar pushed to improve Gaza’s economic conditions and avoid targeted assassinations to maintain calm.”

The prime minister also denied allegations that he had asked Bar to target leaders of the anti-government protest movement or demanded personal loyalty from him in the event of a constitutional crisis.

Earlier, Bar submitted his testimony to the Supreme Court, Israel’s highest judicial body, in response to the government's dismissal decision.

In his filing, Bar said Netanyahu had requested personal loyalty in case of a constitutional crisis and asked him to use Shin Bet to collect intelligence on anti-government protesters and activists.

On March 20, the government unanimously approved Bar’s dismissal, which was set to take effect on April 10, but the Supreme Court froze the decision on March 21 pending review of opposition petitions.

Israel has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the cross-border attacks it said claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.