Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sues Netanyahu for defamation over 7 October warnings

The lawsuit

Ronen Bar, the former head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security service, filed a defamation suit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, 13 October. The claim targets Netanyahu's assertion that Bar knew of a possible attack in the hours before the Hamas-led assault of 7 October 2023 and deliberately did not tell him. According to the filing reported by VRT and De Morgen, Bar seeks 3 million shekels (about 870,000 euros). Europa Press describes the suit as the latest round in a long clash that ended with Netanyahu dismissing him in 2025, while De Morgen reports that Bar resigned after a conflict and that the Supreme Court overturned an attempt to fire him.

What Bar says he told Netanyahu

The filing lists dozens of warnings between November 2022 and the days before the attack, according to Notícias ao Minuto and La Razón, while Spiegel reports Bar's count at a minimum of 20. Dated entries include 23 July 2023, when Bar says he passed on a strategic warning of war over a secure line, and 21 August, when he cited a dramatic escalation in attacks launched from Gaza. On 14 September he reports an unusual message from the enemy, and on 17 September he reportedly warned of an unavoidable conflict. On 1 October he flagged a spike in militant plans and, according to Spiegel, called for preemptive strikes against Hamas leaders.

1. Jul 23, 2023Bar says he passed a strategic warning of war to Netanyahu over a secure line
2. Aug 21, 2023Bar reportedly cited a dramatic escalation in attacks launched from Gaza
3. Sep 14, 2023Bar says he informed Netanyahu of an unusual message from the enemy
4. Sep 17, 2023Bar reportedly warned of an unavoidable conflict during a meeting
5. Oct 1, 2023Bar reportedly flagged a spike in militant plans and called for preemptive strikes on Hamas leaders
6. Oct 7, 03:55 AMShin Bet informed Netanyahu's military secretariat of its steps, according to the filing

Bar also says that in the early hours of 7 October, at 3.55 am, Shin Bet informed Netanyahu's military secretariat of the steps it had taken. He adds that he did not have the prime minister's personal phone number.

Netanyahu's response

Netanyahu has downplayed the suit and repeated his accusation on social media. He says Bar saw the warning signs on the night of 7 October and did not call him, and he argues Bar had access to a red phone emergency number that heads of security services routinely use. Netanyahu also said Shin Bet agents who are with him around the clock could have reached him within minutes. According to Notícias ao Minuto, he has accused Bar of crimes in how he acted before the attack. Netanyahu denies that the UAE government or Egyptian intelligence warned him, calling those claims blood libels.

Disputed reports and the inquiry question

Spiegel, citing Haaretz, reports that about a week and a half before the attack Netanyahu spoke by phone with Mohamed bin Zayed, ruler of the United Arab Emirates, who reportedly warned him that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar planned an operation. The same account says Netanyahu did not pass that information on to security decision makers. A New York Times investigation reportedly supports this version: Netanyahu convened security chiefs on 1 October to discuss Gaza but reportedly did not mention the warning. The army and Shin Bet have carried out internal investigations, but the government has repeatedly blocked a state commission of inquiry, according to Notícias ao Minuto and La Razón. Bar's filing asks for relevant documents to be made public, and he argues that without a state inquiry the courts would establish the truth, according to Ynet as cited by La Razón.

Political timing

Spiegel calls the moment delicate for Netanyahu. Israel will elect a new parliament on 27 October, the first national vote since 7 October 2023. The dispute over the warnings thus comes shortly before the ballot.