{"id":8755,"date":"2026-10-14T18:56:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T18:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8755"},"modified":"2026-10-14T18:56:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T18:56:58","slug":"israels-former-security-chief-sues-netanyahu-for-october-7-defamation-israel-election-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8755","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s former security chief sues Netanyahu for October 7 defamation | Israel Election 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Published On 14 Oct 2026<\/span>14 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The former head of Israel\u2019s domestic security agency Shin Bet has sued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation over claims of his responsibility in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.<\/p>\n

Coming just before Israel\u2019s close-fought October 27 election in which Netanyahu is fighting for his political life, the case is set to ramp up the country\u2019s political drama.<\/p>\n

Ronen Bar, the former director of Shin Bet, accused Netanyahu \u201clying to cover himself\u201d and said it was slanderous of the prime minister to have accused him of \u201ccriminal failures\u201d over the attack, in a 134-page court document.<\/p>\n

In the 164-page court filing, Bar said he telephoned the prime minister\u2019s military secretary as soon as signs of a possible attack became apparent, but that he did not have Netanyahu\u2019s direct number.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu has said he was not alerted by Bar on the morning of the Hamas-led assault, insisting that he could have stopped the attack had the Shin Bet\u2019s then-director or military leaders called to wake him up the day of the early-morning attack.<\/p>\n

Bar\u2019s lawsuit says Netanyahu made accusations \u201cthat he knew to be false, with the aim of diverting the debate from his own responsibility for the events of October 7\u201d.<\/p>\n

Instead, it was Netanyahu\u2019s policies over several years that had \u201cincreased the dangers posed by terrorist organisations in Gaza\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n

Likud response<\/h2>\n

On Wednesday, Netanyahu responded to Bar\u2019s accusations in a statement issued by his Likud party saying, \u201cRonen, are you serious?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had my number on the red line and could have called me immediately, as all security chiefs do,\u201d Netanyahu asked, adding, \u201cHow many lives could we have saved if only you had called in time?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bar resigned as head of Shin Bet in June 2025 amid recriminations over the deadliest attack in Israel\u2019s history, while insisting he had informed Netanyahu of the threat in advance.<\/p>\n

He is seeking three million shekels (about $968,500) in damages from Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

\"TEL
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the lectern to supporters during a party campaign rally at Expo Tel Aviv on September 17, 2026 in Tel Aviv, Israel [Erik Marmor\/Getty Images]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warnings, lies, manipulation<\/h2>\n

The allegations in Bar\u2019s lawsuit come days after Netanyahu\u2019s former military secretary, Avi Gil, told Israel\u2019s Channel 12 that the prime minister\u2019s office had \u201cfalsified records related to October 7, 2023\u201d, including altering the recorded time of a key phone call.<\/p>\n

Gil, who served as Netanyahu\u2019s military secretary from July 2021 to May 2024, said a stenographer in the prime minister\u2019s office approached him in January 2024 with instructions from Netanyahu\u2019s chief of staff to change the time of a four-minute call from 6:40am local time (03:40GMT) to 6:29am (03:29 GMT).<\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me, I\u2019m not allowed to change it,\u201d said Gil, accusing the head of Netanyahu\u2019s office of manipulating telephone records, adding, \u201cThose are facts, and there is no dispute about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> that Netanyahu had been warned of the attack by Egypt\u2019s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel.<\/p>\n

In a rare move, Kamel reportedly phoned the prime minister just days before the attack, underscoring previous warnings in September 2023, when he is said to have flown to Israel to warn security officials in person that Hamas was planning an attack.<\/p>\n

Polls show Netanyahu is in a tight race to stay in power in the October 27 election, after being hammered by former staff and government officials as well as the opposition for failing to prevent the bloodshed.<\/p>\n

At least 1,221 Israelis were killed on October 7, 2023, after Hamas broke through the fence separating Israel and Gaza, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.<\/p>\n

Also, 251 Israelis were taken hostage, including the bodies of 44 Israelis killed that day.<\/p>\n

In the three years since, Israel has killed more than 74,300 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave.<\/p>\n

More than 1,400 Gazans have been killed in Israeli attacks since a tentative \u201cceasefire\u201d backed by the US was reached last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Published On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026 The former head of Israel\u2019s domestic security agency Shin Bet has sued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation over claims of his responsibility in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack. Coming just before Israel\u2019s close-fought October 27 election in which Netanyahu is fighting for his political life, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t