Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to the nation on Sunday morning for his statement Saturday night accusing the IDF, and especially its intelligence service, of responsibility for Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7.
טעיתי. דברים שאמרתי בעקבות מסיבת העיתונאים לא היו צריכים להיאמר ואני מתנצל על כך. אני נותן גיבוי מלא לכל ראשי זרועות הביטחון. אני מחזק את הרמטכ״ל ואת מפקדי וחיילי צה״ל שנמצאים בחזית ונלחמים על הבית. יחד ננצח.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 29, 2023
Netanyahu posted his statement on X (formerly Twitter) after he refused to explicitly admit that he bears some responsibility for October 7, when pressed during a press conference. He only said that everyone would have to give the public answers, including him, but put the blame on the defense and intelligence officials before deleting the tweet on Sunday morning shortly before his apology.
הבוקר הזה במיוחד אני מבקש לגבות ולחזק את כל גורמי הביטחון וחיילי צה"ל – כולל הרמטכ״ל, ראש אמ"ן וראש השב"כ. כשאנחנו נמצאים במלחמה, מנהיגות צריכה לגלות אחריות, להחליט לעשות את הדברים הנכונים ולחזק את הכוחות באופן שהם יוכלו לממש את שאנחנו דורשים מהם. כל פעולה או אמירה אחרת - פוגעות…
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) October 29, 2023
“At no point was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Hamas’s intention to start a war,” he wrote in the third person. “On the contrary, all the defense officials, including the heads of the Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency], assessed that Hamas was deterred. This was the assessment submitted time after time to the prime minister and the cabinet by all the entities in the defense and the intelligence community right up until the war broke out.”
The prime minister is one of the last defense and political leaders to refuse to take responsibility for the attack. Multiple ministers and MKs in the coalition have taken responsibility, including Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as have many leaders in the defense apparatus.
Even people who weren’t in the government when the attack happened have taken responsibility, with former prime minister Naftali Bennett and former defense minister Benny Gantz both saying they bore responsibility for the attack.
Netanyahu's post was met with criticism
Netanyahu’s post was met with heavy criticism from throughout the Knesset, with some urging Netanyahu to retract his statement while others reiterated their support for the IDF.
“When at war, leadership needs to behave responsibly, do all the right things, and strengthen the forces in such a way that they can do what we need them to do,” said Gantz. “Any other action or statement harms the abilities of the people and its forces. The prime minister must retract his statement from last night and stop dealing with the issue.”
Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, also spoke out against Netanyahu’s statement, saying that weakening the IDF’s commanders was wrong. He added that now is the time to be responsible and support and strengthen one another even when they’re wrong.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu had crossed a redline with his statement.
“While the IDF is heroically fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah, he’s working on attempts to put the blame on them instead of backing them up,” he said. “The attempts to escape responsibility and put the blame on the defense forces weakens the IDF while it’s fighting Israel’s enemies.”
He also posted a video of a statement he made just before Yom Kippur, when he said he had been warned by defense officials that Israel was about to find itself in a multi-front war.
“The intelligence materials that I was basing on were given to Netanyahu as well,” he added. “Those who gave the intelligence were the same defense people that Netanyahu is now blaming for not warning him.”
National Unity Minister Chili Tropper said, “At midnight, when our soldiers are in Gaza or in the area, it’s best to pray for them and support them.... We definitely shouldn’t be settling scores with them.”
After the criticism, Netanyahu tweeted that he was wrong to make the statement and that the defense forces have his full support.