Netanyahu denies having been warned of October 7 by foreign services

ANDm reported, the government chief’s office claimed that Netanyahu “did not meet or speak to Abbas Kamel, who at the time headed the General Intelligence Service of Egypt,” before the attacks of the Palestinian militias in southern Israel, which caused about 1,200 deaths and triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

Likewise, he said that in the months leading up to Hamas’ attacks, “no Israeli intelligence officer has sent an Egyptian alert to the Prime Minister.”.

The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic magazine have reported in recent days that Abbas Kamel has issued several warnings to Israeli authorities, including a brief visit to Tel Aviv Airport and a phone call to Netanyahu himself about the plans of the Islamists of the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu ordered a complaint for defamation after this news, although he did not specify against whom, insisting that no Israeli intelligence agency transmitted an Egyptian alert to the Prime Minister.

Today’s press release condemns a “vil and lying” campaign of the “left-wing media” to attribute to it all the “failures and crimes” of Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s internal intelligence services (Shin Bet) at the time of the attacks.

“Bar kept numerous conversations with then chief of the armed forces, Herzi Halevi, and the head of the military intelligence services, in which they discussed all revealing indications. Nevertheless, he decided not to call or inform the Prime Minister, not to alert the surveillance units or army forces on the ground, not to evacuate the Nova Festival and send only a small tactical team ", said the statement of the government office.

In response, Ronen Bar has already announced the intention to prosecute the head of the Israeli Government.

News of Egypt’s warnings appear after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu also received prior warnings from the United Arab Emirates about a possible Hamas operation in Israel.

On an unannounced visit, the Prime Minister visited the Emirates on Sunday to meet with his leader, according to the international agencies and various media outlets of Israel, after the first news was released by the Israeli television station Canal 12.

Neither Israel nor the Emirates commented on the trip, which, according to a source quoted by the Associated Press (AP), which was informed of the content of the contacts, served Netanyahu to ask the President of the Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, to deny the prior warning of the Arab authorities about Hamas attacks.

The Israeli Prime Minister had previously denied the warning issued by Haaretz and announced his intention to proceed with a lawsuit against the newspaper.

Today, Shin Bet filed a lawsuit against Channel 12 for “severe violation of censorship,” after the network reported the Israeli Prime Minister’s meeting with Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Netanyahu’s office has announced that it has requested this action from the head of the Military Censorship Department for channel 12 to be prosecuted with all the rigour of the law, as “the news has endangered the life of the Prime Minister and his wife, as well as that of the delegation accompanying him,” including elements of Shin Bet and the external information service, Mossad.

In the statement released by his office today, the Israeli Prime Minister also accused Arab countries of being among “states and foreign and hostile actors” aimed at overthrowing their government and bringing opposition to power, plus their alleged plans for military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, as well as accepting the Palestinian State.

“ That is the electoral issue: either the right or Palestine”, said, regarding the next legislatures, on 27 October, whose polls point to very tight results, without any of the blocks favorable to the government or the opposition getting control of the parliament.

Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly held security services responsible for the inability to anticipate and confront Hamas' attacks and, more recently, claimed that if he had been awakened earlier on the morning of October 7, 2023, he could have ordered quick and efficient actions.

According to the Israeli press, the main leaders of the opposition met on Saturday and one of the issues on which they agreed was the creation of a state inquiry committee on 7 October after the elections.