Netanyahu apologises for criticising security services for Hamas attack

JERUSALEM: Faced with sharp criticism from allies and opposition alike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday apologised for an earlier statement in which he blamed the security services for failing to prevent the deadly Hamas attack on October 7.

“I was wrong. The things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologise for that,” Netanyahu said in a post on X, shortly after deleting his original statement on the same social media platform.

“I give full backing to all the heads of the security services. I am sending strength to the [IDF] chief of staff and the commanders and soldiers of the IDF who are on the frontlines and fighting for our home,” the Israeli prime minister further said.

Late Saturday night, Netanyahu in a post on X said that he never received any warnings of Hamas’ “war intentions” at any stage, and stressed that “all the security services, including the head of military intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, were of the opinion that Hamas was deterred and wanted to come to a settlement”.

His comments evoked sharp criticism following which it was deleted.

At a press conference on Saturday evening, reporters repeatedly asked the Israeli prime minister if he accepted responsibility for the failure, a question he evaded saying that there would be a thorough enquiry about it after the War and everyone would have to give answers, “including me”.

Several security chiefs have accepted responsibility for the massive failure, but Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister who has been at the helm of affairs since 2009 except for a brief 13-month gap, has desisted from taking any blame for it.

The spokesman for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, tried to brush aside the controversy, saying “I will not answer that question. We are now in a war and are focused on it”.

“We in the IDF and Shin Bet will conduct a thorough investigation of the truth and present everything to the public,” Hagari was quoted as saying in the local media.

Netanyahu’s ally National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticised the Prime Minister for the post but said that this was not the proper time “for an accounting”.

“The problem isn’t specific warnings, but rather the entire mistaken concept. The policy of containment, the imaginary deterrence, and buying temporary quiet for an exorbitant price” are the root of the entire problem, Ben Gvir said in a post on X, referring to Netanyahu’s post.

Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, however, said that such a discussion “is not for now,” but that there will be “a lot of time afterwards for an accounting”.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that the prime minister has “crossed a red line” by blaming the security and defence services.

“While IDF soldiers and commanders are fighting valiantly against Hamas and Hezbollah, he is trying to blame them instead of backing them up,” Lapid wrote on X.

“Such attempts to evade responsibility and place the blame on the security establishment weakens the IDF while it is fighting Israel’s enemies,” he said, demanding, “Netanyahu must apologise for his words”.

National Unity chairman and former Defence Minister Benny Gantz, who joined Netanyahu’s government to boost war preparation efforts, called on the Prime Minister to retract his comments.