Israel’s former security chief sues Netanyahu for October 7 defamation

Published On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026The former head of Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet has sued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation over claims of his responsibility in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.Coming just before Israel’s close-fought October 27 election in which Netanyahu is fighting for his political life, the case is set to ramp up the country’s political drama.Ronen Bar, the former director of Shin Bet, accused Netanyahu “lying to cover himself” and said it was slanderous of the prime minister to have accused him of “criminal failures” over the attack, in a 134-page court document.In the 164-page court filing, Bar said he telephoned the prime minister’s military secretary as soon as signs of a possible attack became apparent, but that he did not have Netanyahu’s direct number.Netanyahu has said he was not alerted by Bar on the morning of the Hamas-led assault, insisting that he could have stopped the attack had the Shin Bet’s then-director or military leaders called to wake him up the day of the early-morning attack.Bar’s lawsuit says Netanyahu made accusations “that he knew to be false, with the aim of diverting the debate from his own respon...