During the heated discussion held today (Thursday) in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed one of the most serious theories surrounding the October 7th attacks - the suspicion of internal betrayal.
Netanyahu sought in his remarks to refute these allegations categorically, defining the events as a systemic failure rather than an intentional act of malice.
In response to a question from MK Hili Tropper (Blue and White), Netanyahu said, "There was no betrayal." He emphasized that he wanted to lift what he called the "cloud of betrayal" hanging over the security echelon that served before the war. According to him, the source of the disaster was a deep "intelligence failure," but not deliberate activity to assist the enemy.
Netanyahu added that the public deserves to be exposed to the protocols of the Cabinet discussions in the years leading up to the attack, to understand the general atmosphere. "The people of Israel must know these protocols," he said, reading quotes from senior political and security officials in the past, including Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, who, according to Netanyahu, also held the belief that Hamas was deterred and did not want escalation.
Despite the Prime Minister’s attempt to calm the discourse around the issue of betrayal, the statement sparked an uproar in the room. MK Tally Gotliv (Likud) interrupted his words and shouted, "We knew there was betrayal."
Netanyahu argued in his remarks that former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had previously blocked wide-ranging operations in Gaza. "Bennett always opposed occupying Gaza," Netanyahu was quoted as saying while reading from the protocols.
Some members of the opposition stormed out of the classified discussion, attacking: "Is this why we came to the discussion? To hear Bibi read us protocols from the cabinets against Bennett, Eisenkot, and Gantz?" they asked. "Does he think we are stupid? We weren’t allowed to ask a single question."
Earlier, we published for the first time that during the discussion, Netanyahu revealed that on the morning of October 7th, at 5:15 AM, the Shin Bet issued an official document summarizing all the warnings received during the night from the Gaza Strip. According to Netanyahu, the document reached the Prime Minister's office only at 9:47 AM - more than four hours after it was distributed.
Netanyahu claimed that the original document did not include any instruction to update the Prime Minister, and noted that only in the recently submitted Shin Bet reports was the instruction to update the Prime Minister suddenly added. He said that the Shin Bet had allegedly forged and added the update matter. The document was signed by the head of Shin Bet at the time, Ronen Bar.
He added that he passed the findings to State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman as part of the investigation into the October 7th events, and claimed that the Comptroller was shocked by the information. The committee members also reacted in astonishment.