Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Wednesday afternoon to the detailed defamation lawsuit filed by former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, addressing just one of the allegations. Netanyahu did not deny Bar's claim that he did not have the prime minister's personal phone number, instead arguing that Bar could have reached him through the secure emergency hotline, known as the "red phone."
"Ronen Bar, who saw the warning signs on the night of October 7 and didn't call me, now says he didn't have my phone number. Ronen, are you serious?" Netanyahu wrote in response to the lawsuit.
"You had my red phone number, and you could have called me immediately, as all the heads of the security establishment do," he continued. "The Shin Bet security guards, your subordinates, who are with me 24/7, could have reached me within minutes. How many lives could we have saved if you had only called in time?"
Responding to Netanyahu's remarks, associates of Bar said no one takes the matter more seriously than he does, adding that the loss of so many lives was an extremely serious matter.
"If the prime minister is serious, he should waive his immunity, face the allegations and provide explanations for the policies he established, the communication procedures he put in place, which the military secretary described, and the recommendations to eliminate senior Hamas officials that he never acted upon," an associate said.
Former military secretary Avi Gil, who held the position on the eve of October 7, explained in an interview last week that the prime minister does not ordinarily carry the red phone with him but goes to it when requested.
The retired major general also confirmed a report published by journalist Nadav Eyal in August 2024 concerning a warning about the possibility of war that Bar delivered to Netanyahu in July 2023.
Earlier Wednesday, the former Shin Bet director filed a defamation lawsuit against Netanyahu after the prime minister accused him of "crimes" related to his conduct before the October 7 massacre and amplified conspiracy theories alleging that Bar "knew about a real threat on the night of October 7."
Bar is seeking 3 million shekels in damages, demanding the disclosure of documents and calling on Netanyahu to waive his immunity. "In the absence of a state commission of inquiry, the truth will be established in court," the lawsuit states.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Dedi Barnea and Ronen Bar
(Photo: Koby Gideon/GPO)
In the detailed filing, Bar outlined a timeline of the warnings he says he delivered to Netanyahu. He claimed that he repeatedly warned the prime minister about the possibility of a security escalation and that, contrary to Netanyahu's assertions, intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet was passed to the relevant authorities on the night of October 7.
The documents describe warnings conveyed to Netanyahu around Ramadan and the spring holidays in 2023, as well as between July and September of that year.
Bar alleged that he warned of the erosion of Israeli deterrence and challenged assessments that Hamas had been deterred. According to Bar, he also presented operational options targeting senior Hamas leaders, but the plans were never approved for implementation. He claimed Netanyahu dismissed or ignored the proposals.
According to the lawsuit, from late July through the Jewish High Holidays, Bar repeatedly warned that Israeli deterrence was weakening and disputed the prevailing assessment that Hamas was deterred. In fact, Bar maintained the opposite: He warned that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had become increasingly messianic and called for a military strike, alongside a broader set of operational recommendations.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time that Abbas Kamel, Egypt's intelligence chief at the time and one of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi's closest associates, had landed in Israel about a week and a half before the October 7 massacre.
In an interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu said Kamel "did not meet with me because I was at a memorial ceremony for fallen IDF soldiers." According to reports, Kamel warned during the visit of "a major attack being planned by Hamas."
Netanyahu also claimed he did not know whom Kamel had met during the secret visit on September 26, 2023. "Egypt's intelligence minister was here. He spent 59 minutes on the ground. I'm turning to the security and law enforcement authorities. I want to know whom he met. Someone who met with him is trying to pin this on me," Netanyahu said. He also questioned, "Since when does an intelligence chief speak with a head of state?"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Egyptian General Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel in 2021
(Video: Roi Avraham, GPO)
However, years earlier, Netanyahu had hosted Kamel at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem. A video released at the time by the Prime Minister's Office showed Netanyahu and Kamel shaking hands and speaking, while Kamel was heading a delegation of senior Egyptian officials visiting Israel.
Two days after the October 7 massacre, Ynet journalist Smadar Perry reported, following an Associated Press report about an Egyptian warning, that Kamel had conveyed a message to Netanyahu's office warning of "something unusual, a massive operation" expected to originate from Gaza.
The Prime Minister's Office denied the report at the time.