The broadcaster on Thursday listed 14 cases in which the prime minister was alerted by the country’s top security officials, then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, army chief of staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and set out how he responded or failed to.
Gallant estimated in a private conversation that he, Halevi and Bar warned Netanyahu 10 to 15 times, the station said.
The officials’ central concern was that Israel’s enemies saw a country weakened by internal turmoil and might exploit it. They pointed in particular to protests against the government’s judicial overhaul and growing opposition among some reservists, which they feared could erode the army’s readiness.
A month before the attack, Gallant handed Netanyahu a seven-page document on the army’s deteriorating state and the risks to national security. A week later, Bar told a parliamentary committee that war on several fronts could erupt soon.
Channel 12 said Netanyahu often did not react, put off meetings with security officials or refused to see them. Some warnings went unanswered.
The station stressed that the warnings were strategic and did not point to a specific Hamas plan. It added that the prime minister’s inaction does not absolve the military and intelligence services of failing to foresee the attack.
More than 1,200 people were killed in the attack and 251 were taken hostage to Gaza. The army and security services have admitted failing to prevent the attack, and the chiefs of the general staff and the Shin Bet security service have left their posts. Political responsibility remains unresolved.
Netanyahu has not admitted personal errors and has opposed from the start an independent state commission of inquiry, whose members would be chosen by the Supreme Court president. His coalition is pushing instead for a panel selected by parliament.
(jh)
Source: PAP