The partial protocols, the affidavit and the warnings before 10/7: Netanyahu vs. Ronen Bar - version vs. version
The fierce confrontation between Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar is the latest chapter in the debate over intelligence and recommendations before October 7. Netanyahu publishes excerpts from partial protocols and claims Bar adhered to the "concept" of quiet and leniency. Bar responds that the quotes were taken out of context, and points to warnings he issued during 2023, including a war alert in July. At the center of the dispute: a discussion from October 1, 2023, where Bar spoke about humanitarian benefits but also about the need to confront Sinwar and advance an elimination plan. The full transcript has not been published.
The fierce confrontation that erupted between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar is the latest chapter in a debate that has been ongoing for nearly three years: what did the two know before October 7, what did the Shin Bet chief recommend, and what did the Prime Minister decide. Netanyahu accused Bar of "failures and crimes" and claimed that on the night of the massacre he knew of a real danger but did not update him. Bar announced his intention to file a defamation lawsuit and claimed that Netanyahu is partially and manipulatively publishing documents and protocols. At the center of the dispute are 55 pages that Netanyahu published in February, including quotes from security discussions, but the full transcripts were not published. A prominent example is the situation assessment from October 1, 2023, six days before the massacre. Netanyahu quoted Bar as saying that "we can be very, very generous and even tempting on humanitarian issues" and that "it doesn't seem to me that we can... go for an initiated round." However, according to an investigation by Ronen Bergman and Yuval Rubovitz, at that same meeting Bar also said that "Sinwar feels strong. We need to confront him" and asked to advance an elimination plan for Sinwar and Deif. Bar claims in an affidavit to the High Court that throughout 2023 he warned that the internal rift creates a "window of opportunity" for enemies, and that in July 2023 he gave Netanyahu a "war warning." However, this was not a focused warning about the Hamas attack on October 7. Bar himself admitted the Shin Bet's failure on the night of the massacre. The analysis shows that the material does not align with a simple division of one side that wanted quiet and the other that wanted to attack.