Rift deepens in Israeli war cabinet over Netanyahu’s comments

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under harsh criticism after he blamed the regime’s so-called security and intelligence services for giving him faulty assessments before Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7.

More Israeli politicians have come forward to criticize Netanyahu after he said on Saturday that he had not received any warning on the Hamas’ intention to plan an assault on Israel.

Netanyahu said in a post on X that the head of military and intelligence services had wrongly assessed that Hamas was “deterred” before the war.

“When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, decide to do the right things and strengthen the forces in a way that they can to realize what we demand from them. Any other action or statement – harms the people’s ability to stand and their strength,” Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Israel’s war cabinet said on X.

Gantz said that Netanyahu “must retract” the statement where he blamed the country’s security agencies for the October 7 attack.Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who has refused to join the emergency war cabinet, also said in a post on X that “Netanyahu crossed a red line tonight” and must apologize.

“While IDF soldiers and officers are fighting bravely against Hamas and Hezbollah, [the PM] is trying to blame them, instead of supporting them. The efforts to evade responsibility and place blame on the security establishment weakens the IDF while it is fighting Israel’s enemies,” Lapid added.

National security minister and far-right leader Itamar Ben-Gvir said that such discussions are “not for now” and that there will be “plenty of time later for a poignant reckoning.”

“The problem is not specific warnings, but the entire misconception. The policy of containment, the imaginary deterrence, and the purchase of temporary peace at an exorbitant price, [these] are the fathers of all sins,” Ben-Gvir said on X.

Facing the barrage of criticism, Netanyahu later deleted the controversial social media post.

Meanwhile, other Israeli officials who joined the opponents of Netanyahu’s comments include former foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Labor Party chair Merav Michaeli.