Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar failed in his handling of the response to the October 7 massacre, a message attributed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle stated on Tuesday.
The remark came following the Shin Bet releasing its probe into the massacre.
The agency’s report included accusations that Netanyahu’s policies regarding the Temple Mount, Palestinian prisoners’ treatment, and the judicial overhaul were significant motivators for Hamas to invade on the morning of October 7.
The statement from Netanyahu’s circle noted that the Shin Bet director “misread the intelligence picture and was trapped in a misguided perception.
“In the ongoing intelligence assessments, including just days before the massacre, the Shin Bet’s central thesis was that Hamas sought to maintain calm and that no escalation was expected,” the statement added.
It further said that on October 1, 2023, Bar “recommended granting civilian benefits to Hamas in exchange for maintaining calm.
“Bar unequivocally asserted that Hamas sought to avoid a confrontation with Israel. He even saw potential for long-term stability in Gaza if Israel provided it with a positive economic outlook,” according to the statement.
Shin Bet officials qualified the claim that they had said Hamas was deterred was “an invention,” according to Ynet.
The officials reportedly noted they had said at the time that Hamas felt secure and identified the inner splits in Israeli society.
'Failed to address Jericho Walls'
“Most alarming of all – the Shin Bet and its director failed to address, even at the most basic level, the ‘Walls of Jericho’ plan for Israel’s destruction (which was not presented to the prime minister before October 7).
“This was neither included in ongoing intelligence assessments nor considered on the night of October 7, despite the fact that the Shin Bet had known about the plan since 2018,” the statement from the prime minister’s circle added.
“In addition to all this, the Shin Bet director did not see fit to wake the prime minister on the night of the attack – the most fundamental and essential decision imaginable,” it said.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.