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Israel's Netanyahu says wasn't shown intelligence of Hamas attack, then…
Israel-Hamas War: Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn public ire for not taking responsibility over the intelligence and operational failures.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a jab at his intelligence chiefs saying that they never warned him Hamas was planning its wide-scale attack on October 7. The remark caused a political uproar in Israel and a rift within Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet. The premier has drawn public ire for not taking responsibility over the intelligence and operational failures surrounding Hamas' rampage through southern Israel.
Even though top officials - from the heads of the military and the Shin Bet domestic spy service to his finance minister - have all acknowledged their failures, Benjamin Netanyahu has not. He only said that there would be time to ask tough questions, including of himself, after the war.
Israel's military spokesperson, asked about Netanyahu's comments, declined to respond, saying, "We are now at war, focused on the war."
Benjamin Netanyahu's post, which has since been deleted, had said, "At no time and no stage was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding war intentions of Hamas. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of army intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, estimated that Hamas was deterred and interested in an arrangement."
The remarks were quickly rebuked by current and past allies, including Benny Gantz, a former defense minister. Benny Gantz said on X, formerly Twitter, that Benjamin Netanyahu should take back what he said and let the matter go.
"When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, decide to do the right things and bolster the forces in a way that they can carry out what we demand of them," he said.
Opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman, once Netanyahu's defense minister, in a radio interview said, “I saw his Twitter (the former name for X) from overnight, which points to just one thing: he is not interested in security, he is not interested in hostages, only politics.”
Yossi Cohen, who headed the Mossad spy agency earlier, told Israel Radio, "You take responsibility from the beginning of your job, not from the middle. When I took responsibility for the Mossad, for example ... all that happened, from end to end was my responsibility."
