Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against his intelligence chiefs on Sunday, saying they never warned him that Hamas was planning its large-scale attack and causing a political uproar and a split within his cabinet. of war.
Netanyahu ended up deleting the comments posted on X (formerly Twitter) in the early hours of this Sunday and apologized. He previously received criticism for failing to take responsibility for operational and intelligence failures surrounding Hamas’ offensive in southern Israel.
See also — CNN reporter captures moment when rockets are launched from Gaza into Israel
Although senior officials, from the heads of the armed forces and the Shin Bet national spy service to his finance minister, have acknowledged his failures, the prime minister has not.
He just said there would be time to ask difficult questions, including about himself, after the war.
Israel’s military spokesman, when asked about Netanyahu’s comments during a daily briefing with reporters, declined to respond on the matter, saying only: “We are now at war, focused on war.”
Netanyahu’s post said: “At no time and at no stage was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding Hamas’ war intentions.”
“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 was interested in a settlement,” he added.
In a second post on X, about 10 hours later, Netanyahu wrote: “I was wrong,” adding that his remarks “should not have been made and I apologize for that.”
“I give full support to all the heads of the security branches,” he noted.
The remarks were quickly rebuked by current and former allies, including Benny Gantz, a former defense minister who now sits in the prime minister’s war cabinet.
Gantz said on X that Netanyahu should take back what he said and leave the matter aside.
“When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, decide to do the right things and reinforce forces in a way that they can fulfill what we demand of them”, pondered Gantz.
Hamas’ surprise attack was the deadliest day in Israel’s 75-year history. Since then, the country has bombarded the Gaza Strip with devastating air strikes and begun ground operations aimed at demobilizing the Iran-backed Islamist group and rescuing dozens of prisoners.
“I saw his Twitter overnight, which only points to one thing: he is not interested in security, he is not interested in hostages, only politics,” said opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman, who was once defense minister of Netanyahu, in a radio interview.
Yossi Cohen, who headed the Mossad spy agency under previous Netanyahu governments, told Israel Radio: “You take responsibility from the beginning of your work, not from the middle.”
“When I took responsibility for the Mossad, for example, everything that happened, from end to end, was my responsibility,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
