Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a sworn affidavit to the High Court of Justice on Sunday, responding to the sharp affidavit filed last week by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. In his filing, Netanyahu lifted confidentiality protections from classified cabinet protocols, personally approving the disclosure of highly sensitive material.
Netanyahu accused Bar of lying about warnings ahead of the October 7 massacre, the handling of Gaza escalation, Bar’s testimony in Netanyahu’s own corruption trial and the Shin Bet’s response to protests against the prime minister.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar
(Photo: Haim Tzach, Haim Goldberg/Flash 90)
He attached numerous documents aimed at refuting Bar’s claims. While Netanyahu addressed Bar’s core allegation — that the prime minister had ordered him to obey Netanyahu over the High Court during a potential constitutional crisis — he stopped short of explicitly denying it.
"Bar’s blindness was the biggest intelligence failure in the history of Israel," Netanyahu charged at the beginning of the affidavit.
Netanyahu was initially required to submit his affidavit by midnight Thursday but requested an extension. The court granted the request, setting Sunday as the new deadline. In his request, Netanyahu’s attorneys cited delays in receiving Bar’s classified affidavit.
Netanyahu: Bar failed to warn about October 7 attack
In the affidavit, Netanyahu argued that Bar did not warn of an imminent attack on the night of October 7 and failed to "jolt the system," as Bar claimed. According to Netanyahu, Bar held a situation assessment at 5:15 a.m. — roughly 75 minutes before the assault began — yet did not issue a war alert or order emergency preparations.
Instead, Bar instructed that forces maintain "medium readiness" and avoid major operations "to prevent miscalculations." Netanyahu concluded that Bar’s assertion that he gave powerful warnings was "false" and that no alerts were sent to the prime minister, defense minister, alert squads in kibbutzim or organizers of the Nova music festival.
Handling Gaza: ‘Bar recommended strengthening Gaza’s economy’
Netanyahu further alleged that throughout 2023, Bar did not warn of escalating violence from Gaza. Instead, he advised strengthening Gaza’s economy and avoiding targeted eliminations to "preserve calm."
The affidavit quoted Security Cabinet meetings and situation assessments in which Bar stressed Hamas’ restraint and described the entry of Gaza workers into Israel as a stabilizing factor.
Later, on February 12, 2023, Bar described former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a "sober" figure not seeking a broad conflict and noted that "their northern front still does not pose a real threat."
A background review dated April 4, 2023, reported that Hamas leadership in Gaza had internally reaffirmed a strategy of restraint while stoking tensions in the West Bank. In an intelligence report from October 3, 2023, Bar assessed that renewing security understandings with Hamas in exchange for easing restrictions could "preserve stability in Gaza."
Allegation over trial testimony: ‘A lie’
Netanyahu also rejected Bar’s claim that the prime minister sought to prevent Bar’s testimony in Netanyahu’s corruption trial. According to the affidavit, Netanyahu insisted the testimony proceed without delay and ordered the Shin Bet to arrange necessary security measures at the Jerusalem District Court.
He stressed that the trial should not be delayed "even by a single day" and pressed Bar to submit a detailed security plan.
"Ronen Bar lied when he said I sought to prevent my testimony,” Netanyahu wrote. “That is his interpretation. The meeting with him took place one day after a drone strike on my home and I demanded detailed security protocols. I explicitly told Bar I did not want any delay."
Response to protest monitoring claims: ‘Wanted to clarify legal limits’
Addressing allegations that he ordered the Shin Bet to unlawfully surveil anti-government protest leaders, Netanyahu said he merely sought to "clarify the limits of the law" and insisted any actions stay strictly within legal boundaries. He cited concerns over violent harassment and threats against public officials that, in his view, police had failed to address adequately.
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A protocol attached to the affidavit records Netanyahu asking Bar: "We need to know the legal limits. Then there's the problem of enforcement, because the police do nothing. I don’t understand the legal limits of harassment or persecution.
“In a free society, can someone stand outside your home with an air horn in your ear and not stop? Can I pay people to harass you with an air horn? Is that legal?" Bar replied: "I can't tell you."
Key allegation not explicitly denied
While Netanyahu addressed Bar’s central accusation — that Netanyahu instructed him to obey the prime minister over the High Court during a constitutional crisis — he did not categorically deny it.
Instead, he noted: "Bar claims I demanded loyalty over the High Court but there’s no trace of this in the attached transcript," implying the request was not recorded but not outright denying it happened.
On the Qatargate affair
Netanyahu also addressed Bar’s reference to the so-called Qatargate investigation and the leaking of classified documents. He argued that the announcement of the Qatar probe coincided suspiciously with a deadline for Netanyahu to undergo questioning and suggested it was intended to sabotage Netanyahu’s efforts to fire Bar.
Netanyahu claimed that plans to remove Bar had been under discussion as early as November 2024, well before the investigation. The affidavit outlined what Netanyahu called "serious failures" during Bar’s tenure, including incitement against political leaders, security breaches at protected facilities and a flare incident at Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea.
Despite these failures, Netanyahu stressed, neither he nor his ministers sought illegal measures against protesters but demanded only equal enforcement of the law.
Bar’s accusations against Netanyahu
Bar’s affidavit, filed in his petition against his dismissal, accused Netanyahu of improper conduct, including attempts to use the Shin Bet against protesters. He linked Netanyahu to conspiracy theories about the Shin Bet’s role in the October 7 failures and reiterated claims about the reasons behind Netanyahu’s "loss of confidence" in him.
Alongside his public affidavit, Bar submitted a classified document. Shortly after Bar’s filing, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement calling it a "false affidavit," vowing it would be "thoroughly refuted soon," and notably avoided referring to Bar as Shin Bet chief.
Government warning to High Court
Earlier on Sunday, the government unanimously approved a declaration reaffirming Bar’s dismissal and calling on the High Court to cancel its temporary injunction blocking his ouster. Netanyahu, who had missed much of the cabinet meeting, voted in favor.
The three-page declaration warned the High Court against "undermining democracy and national security." It was not included in last month’s government decision, which did not address the court proceedings.