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Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has filed a defamation lawsuit against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of making false allegations about his handling of intelligence ahead of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
In a 134-page court filing submitted on Wednesday, Bar alleged that Netanyahu had ignored repeated warnings about the growing security threat from Gaza and was attempting to shift responsibility for the attack onto security officials.
Bar said he had repeatedly warned Netanyahu about the possibility of a major escalation and proposed operational plans targeting senior Hamas leaders, but the prime minister had disregarded the warnings, according to the lawsuit.
He also rejected Netanyahu’s allegation that he had failed to alert the prime minister about the impending attack.
Bar said he contacted Netanyahu’s military secretary when signs of a possible assault emerged, although he did not have the prime minister’s direct phone number.
Netanyahu, however, denied Bar’s account, arguing that the former security chief could have contacted him through a secure emergency hotline.
In a statement issued by his Likud party, Netanyahu questioned why Bar had not called him directly and suggested that lives could have been saved had he done so.
Bar is seeking three million shekels, approximately $970,000, in damages. The lawsuit comes amid continuing controversy over responsibility for the October 7 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the devastating war in Gaza.
Bar resigned as head of Shin Bet in June 2025 amid criticism over the agency’s failure to prevent the attack, while maintaining that he had warned the government about the security threat beforehand.
The legal dispute comes less than two weeks before Israel’s October 27 election, adding to the political pressure surrounding Netanyahu’s handling of the attack.
