Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with his Cabinet to discuss the Shin Bet’s internal report on its failure to predict or prevent the  October 7 massacre, which was published on Tuesday, Channel 14 reported, adding that the Cabinet is expected to recommend the immediate dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar “in disgrace.”

The Shin Bet’s report was slammed by many politicians and news outlets as being politically tainted and pointing fingers and casting blame on others instead of fully taking responsiblity for its failures. The report pointed fingers at the political echelon, IDF intelligence, an improper division of responsiblity between the Shin Bet and the IDF, and even on Hamas, with the report stating that the Shin Bet is focused on thwarting terror attacks and its methods are ineffective against “an enemy that acted like an army.”

Bar, who has a long history of working against his boss, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, even before October 7, did take responsibility for his failure, saying that the Shin Bet “did not prevent the October 7 massacre, a heavy burden he’ll bear the rest of his life,” but also hinted at his support for a state commission of inquiry, something Netanyahu is adamantly opposed due to the justice system’s left-wing slant, and cast blame on his government.

Senior Channel 14 journalist Yaakov Bardugo wrote; “Anyone who has seen the full report understands…that it has essentially been manipulated for political purposes. The report presented to the public is not the original – it has been edited and tailored for public relations purposes. In reality, it’s more of a document created by public relations professionals rather than by investigators.”

“Shin Bet employees are attempting to shift the blame onto others while incessantly demanding a state investigation committee. In essence, they investigated themselves while asking others to investigate the political echelon. The IDF Chief of Staff investigated himself and now the Shin Bet chief is requesting that his own team investigate him.”

Likud MK Chanoch Milwidsky responded to the report by stating: “As a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, many questions arose when I read the investigation. I can’t reveal details but I can say that the Shin Bet was aware of the situation with Hamas since the end of 2021. But we [the government] were given totally opposite reports despite pointed questions we asked about Hamas shortly before October 7. We received answers that were completely different from what was later written in the report.”

He emphasized: “Just like in the army, internal investigations within the Shin Bet are important but they can’t replace an external investigation.”

Sources from Netanyahu’s office stated. “The Shin Bet chief completely failed in everything related to the organization’s handling of Hamas, especially during the events of October 7. Bar misread the intelligence landscape and was trapped in a false perception. During routine intelligence assessments, including just days before the massacre, Shin Bet’s main thesis was that Hamas wanted to maintain quiet and avoid escalation.”

“The most serious issue is that Shin Bet and its leader failed to address even the basics of the ‘Jericho Walls’ plan for the destruction of Israel (which was not presented to the Prime Minister before October 7)—neither in routine assessments nor on the night of the attack,” Netanyahu’s office continued. “This is despite the fact that the Shin Bet had knowledge of the plan as early as 2018. Furthermore, the Shin Bet Chief failed to see the importance of waking the Prime Minister on the night of the attack—a basic and obvious decision that should have been made.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi publicly called for Bar’s immediate removal. Alongside a mocking caricature of Bar, Karhi tweeted, “The man who knew to send a Tequila team [an elite undercover unit sent to thwart terrorists on the way to commit an attack] to the Gaza border on the night of October 7 because he sensed something terrible was unfolding, abandoned IDF soldiers and the region’s residents to their fate. He thinks he can distract from his failures by resorting to threats. We will not allow someone who remained silent in the face of insubordination, fell asleep, abandoned his duties, and committed crimes to have any influence on Israel’s security future.”

Karhi was referring to the report on Tuesday that Bar told Shin Bet employees that he will decide when he’ll resign and who will be appointed in his place.

It should be noted that the office of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has already threatened to thwart a decision by the government to dismiss Bar, saying that such a decision must be based on “a solid and comprehensive factual basis, free of external considerations and consistent with legal and administrative principles.” In other words, like the majority of the government’s decisions, Baharav-Miara will knock it down on claims of being “illegal.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)