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Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet's former chief Ronen Bar said late Monday that he will file a defamation lawsuit against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hours after Netanyahu accused him of failing to alert him to warning signs on the night before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
"I warned Netanyahu of an impending disaster, and he ignored me," Bar said, calling Netanyahu's accusations a campaign that "has no basis in reality."
The clash comes as reports that Egypt and the UAE warned Netanyahu before Oct. 7 dominate Israel's campaign ahead of the Oct. 27 election.
Netanyahu has refused to establish an independent state commission of inquiry into the failures.
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Netanyahu earlier Monday called recent reports of warnings a "nasty and deceitful campaign" meant to shift the blame for "all of Ronen Bar's mistakes and crimes ahead of October 7" onto him.
He alleged that on the night before the attack, Bar, then-military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and then-Military Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva "discussed all the warning signs," but "Bar decided not to call and update the prime minister, not to alert the civilian security squads and Israeli forces in the field, not to evacuate the Nova festival."
Netanyahu also claimed that "foreign and hostile states and actors, including Arab countries," were behind what he called "false blood libels" aimed at toppling his government.
He said he would file a libel suit over the warning reports but did not say against whom.
Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported Monday evening, citing an official investigation, that there had been no contact between Bar and Halevi in the hours before the attack.
Bar said he warned Netanyahu of "impending disaster in an unprecedented manner, and the prime minister ignored these warnings, as well as the recommendations to restore deterrence and reinforce the border."
"After refusing for three years to acknowledge his responsibility and preventing, by every possible means, the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to which the public and bereaved families are entitled, he has begun to selectively publish documents in a manipulative manner and without their proper context," Bar said.
"Now, as testimony concerning warnings he received before the massacre is beginning to emerge, Netanyahu is attempting to deflect blame away from himself by leveling accusations at those who warned him in real time," he said.
The former Israeli official also called on Netanyahu to release all documents and testimony about information given to him before Oct. 7, including his schedule of meetings with foreign officials and security chiefs, "so that the public can be exposed to the full truth, without manipulation."
"I will summon for testimony members of Netanyahu's office and his aides, who have assisted and continue to assist him in this manipulative campaign," Bar said.
"You achieve victory through a preemptive attack on the enemy outside the country, not on security forces at home," he added.
Netanyahu's accusation came in response to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and The Atlantic report that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel called him in early October 2023 to warn of an imminent attack from Gaza.
Netanyahu's office flatly denied the report in a statement on X.
The UAE and Netanyahu's office confirmed Monday that the Israeli leader met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
"The two sides discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel and ways to strengthen and develop them," the Emirati WAM news agency reported.
Neither statement mentioned reports that Netanyahu asked for a denial of the UAE warning, as the Israeli PM's office denied The Associated Press (AP) report.
The Shin Bet also filed a complaint with the military censor seeking legal action against Channel 12 for reporting the trip before Netanyahu returned to Israel, saying the disclosure endangered the prime minister and his delegation.
Ronen Bar said he had waited for a state commission to reveal his warnings but could no longer stay silent.
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