Ronen Bar, former Shin Bet chief, is suing Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation over the prime minister's claims that Bar's failures enabled the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. The lawsuit, filed just before Israel's election, alleges Netanyahu lied to shift blame.
Follow the storyIsrael6 stories
01Summary
- 01Ronen Bar filed a 134-page defamation lawsuit against Benjamin Netanyahu on 14 October 2026, seeking 3 million shekels (about $968,500).
- 02Bar accuses Netanyahu of slanderously blaming him for 'criminal failures' over the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
- 03Netanyahu's former military secretary, Avi Gil, told Channel 12 that the prime minister's office ordered a falsified record of a key phone call's time.
- 04The Wall Street Journal reported that Egypt's intelligence chief warned Netanyahu days before the attack, according to a rare disclosure.
- 05Polls show a tight race for the 27 October 2026 election, with Netanyahu facing criticism from former staff and the opposition.
02Why it matters
This lawsuit injects fresh political turmoil into an already tense Israeli election campaign, directly implicating the prime minister in a scandal over the deadliest attack in the country's history. The outcome could influence voter perceptions of accountability and security leadership.
Pulse AIAsk about this story
Answers are generated by AI from the story summary; they are not investment, health or legal advice.
