Following Opposition Leader Yair Lapid's statement about Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar's security briefing on July 24, several versions of the Shin Bet's warnings were quoted by officials. A senior official who was present at sensitive discussions blamed both sides, but noted: "The political echelon has messed up the state."
On Friday, it was revealed that Bar's warning was given to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lapid on the eve of the vote on the reasonableness clause, curbing the Supreme Court's power, as part of the judicial overhaul. Ronan Bar, spoke to Netanyahu and Lapid, warning of an incoming war.
According to Lapid's statement, he asked Bar: "Did you say that to the prime minister?" and the Shin Bet chief confirmed. On Friday, Lapid commented on the prime minister's response to the statement: "Netanyahu is lying, and this is why he is so afraid of a public inquiry."
A source involved in sensitive discussions also responded to the statement, telling Ynet that "Netanyahu has two claims regarding the warning he received from the Shin Bet chief and the IDF Chief of Staff. If the IDF and the Shin Bet gave such a warning, why didn't they act accordingly? This is of course true. They also failed. They gave a strategic warning that should have entailed two steps: The first being that the government would stop the messing around, and the second one being preparation for such a scenario."
The source referred to Bar's warning and said, "What is a warning worth if it does not include details? Intelligence is limited. Sometimes you have strategic information that there will be a war and you don't know if it is from Lebanon, Syria, Iran or Gaza." However, he points out that "nevertheless, a warning of incoming war is significant for a prime minister, and Netanyahu ignored it."
Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman also placed the blame on both sides In a tweet on Friday. He referred to the statement and wrote: "The exchange of accusations during a war between the Shin Bet chief and the prime minister is a reminder that all those involved and all those responsible for October 7's failure must go home. Everyone, without exception."
Member of Knesset Naama Lazimi from the Labor Party wrote: "There is a reason Netanyahu is running away from a public inquiry so much. He knows the extent of his blame and if such an inquiry is convened, he will have to do the thing he hates the most, take responsibility. There is no escaping an inquiry that will investigate the failures that led to the greatest failure and disaster."
"The Prime Minister's Office tries to assign responsibility only to the defense establishment"
On Thursday, N12 published excerpts from two Shin Bet documents from the beginning of October, which read, "The renewal of the understanding between Israel and Hamas for security and peace in exchange for easing economic conditions will allow stability to be preserved for a long time. Hamas continues Sinwar's strategy, advancing the goals of the terrorist organization without getting caught up in the campaign."
The documents also state that "the last round of aggression ended well for Hamas because it achieved economic benefits without being drawn into a military conflict. We must strive for an outline that will include significant support for Gaza to preserve peace." It was also published that on October 1 the Shin Bet proposed to eliminate senior members of Hamas, but Netanyahu refused.
The Shin Bet's response to the publication stated that "this was a leak, which chose to omit the fact that the document referred to a hostage deal. Also, the Shin Bet chief commented that the report omitted his words concerning "a high level of preparedness must be maintained for a possible campaign in the event of an emergency scenario."
Senior security officials expressed their shock that "individuals in the Prime Minister's Office are leaking classified documents to the media to reshape reality and place responsibility only on the defense establishment while ignoring the warnings received by the Shin Bet."
Prime Minister's Office denies it received warning
The Prime Minister's Office stated in response on Friday: "Prime Minister Netanyahu did not receive a warning for war in Gaza. On the contrary, security officials made it clear that Hamas is deterred and strives to reach an agreement. In addition, a few days before October 7, the Shin Bet assessed that stability in the Gaza Strip is expected to be maintained for a long time." Netanyahu also claims he did not receive a clear warning for "war in Gaza," which proves the Shin Bet warned the prime minister.