Ronen Bar files NIS 3 million defamation lawsuit against Netanyahu over shifting Oct. 7 blame

Former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar filed an NIS 3 million defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Central District Court on Wednesday morning.The lawsuit alleges that in the months leading up to October 7, Netanyahu received repeated warnings about the possibility of an escalation on multiple fronts, with particular emphasis on the Gaza Strip and the Jewish High Holidays. According to the lawsuit, Bar also presented proposals to target senior Hamas officials, but the prime minister rejected both the warnings and the proposed plans.The lawsuit emphasizes that Bar is not trying to evade responsibility, but is challenging what it describes as defamatory statements by Netanyahu that shift responsibility onto Bar."As the head of the service, I bear responsibility for the Shin Bet's failure to provide the intelligence required regarding the October 7 attack and its timing," Bar said in a statement issued on his behalf."Accordingly, I resigned from my position, bowing my head before the bereaved families. We fought, eliminated senior Hamas officials in Gaza and Lebanon, and brought hostages home through daring Shin Bet operations and determined negotiations."Bar also wrote that he had waited three years for the establishment of a commission of inquiry that would finally reveal the Shin Bet's actions alongside its failures, "in the face of an ongoing blood libel. In light of the prime minister's unrestrained outburst, I decided not to remain silent and to show the public the motives behind such improper conduct."The lawsuit details how, in the months leading up to the October 7 disaster, Bar warned the prime minister almost every week about an impending escalation on multiple fronts, with explicit emphasis on the Gaza Strip and the Jewish High Holidays. Bar presented proposals to target senior Hamas officials, but according to him, Netanyahu dismissed or ignored both the warnings and the plans.The lawsuit further alleges that Netanyahu pursued a policy of "quiet at any cost" in the Gaza Strip for years. This included explicit instructions to maintain calm in Gaza, postpone confrontations, keep Gaza as a secondary arena, and preserve Hamas as the governing authority."This policy included funding Hamas's military wing and its buildup through money from Qatar, contrary to the Shin Bet's position over the years, and was based on assessments that Hamas was deterred. This was in complete contradiction to Bar's position. Every attempt by Bar to influence policymaking was bluntly blocked by the prime minister," the lawsuit states.Lawsuit contradicts Netanyahu claims that Shin Bet concealed evidenceAccording to Bar, the lawsuit also presents evidence from the night of October 7 that refutes the claim that the Shin Bet concealed information. It details how, contrary to the prime minister's claims, the Shin Bet began distributing warnings to all security agencies as early as 3:03 a.m.The lawsuit further states that the Military Secretariat in the Prime Minister's Office, along with the other security agencies, was updated on the intelligence situation. Bar also instructed that an update be sent to Netanyahu's military secretary before the attack began."It is worth noting that the prime minister did not get back to the head of the Shin Bet and did not intervene even after the massacre began," the lawsuit states.The lawsuit argues that Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister for nearly two decades in total and has overseen all of Israel's security agencies, knows that the Shin Bet is not responsible for commanding military forces on the ground, overseeing or approving civilian gatherings, or deploying civilian emergency response teams."Therefore, his repeated accusations constitute malicious and entirely false defamation intended to conceal the truth from the public," the lawsuit states.It further alleges that "this blood libel began immediately after Netanyahu failed in his attempt to prevent Ronen Bar from submitting an affidavit to the High Court of Justice detailing the significant security threat posed by Qatar, a Hamas-supporting state, employing advisers working in the Prime Minister's Office, as well as the prime minister's attempts to use the Shin Bet as a 'secret police' force against political protests."Bar maintains that he waited for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to uncover the facts."However, in light of the personal smear campaign against him, which harms the Shin Bet, its operatives, and the memory of its fallen personnel, the absence of any steps toward establishing a state commission of inquiry, reports of alleged attempts to falsify official records, and efforts to establish false narratives that include incitement against the heads of the security establishment, the prime minister's stream of lies can no longer be allowed to continue taking hold among the public."Bar demands full disclosure of documentsA statement issued on Bar's behalf added that the lawsuit was filed to bring the full truth to light, protect the memory of fallen personnel and the dignity of Shin Bet employees, prevent continued harm to the state's values and security, and draw lessons to prevent another disaster.To that end, Bar intends to demand the full disclosure of documents."In an era of divisive leadership based on lies, only decisive action will restore truth to public discourse and halt the system of loyalty and fear taking shape around us, which I fought against during my tenure," Bar added."This is a moral and security obligation and part of fulfilling my responsibility and duty to the state. I call on the prime minister not to hide behind claims of immunity. In the absence of a state commission of inquiry, the truth will be established in court. A little light will dispel much darkness."