Lapid says Netanyahu falsified security protocols to deflect Oct. 7 blame, urges investigation

Lapid called for a criminal investigation into Netanyahu over the matter, making the announcement at a party press conference at the Knesset on Monday.

"The fact that Netanyahu lies is not exactly news. What we have here is far more serious: a tendentious editing of protocols from security discussions is a violation of the official secrets law,” Lapid said.

Netanyahu released a 55-page document late on Thursday evening that outlined answers he gave to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman as part of the investigation into the October 7 Hamas attack.

The prime minister's answers point to failures among officials in the security establishment and appear to deflect his role in the outcome of the attacks.

Netanyahu is among the only major officials who have not resigned following the October 7 massacre. The political echelon has repeatedly blocked a state inquiry into the events surrounding that tragic day, despite polls showing huge public support for this type of investigation.

Lapid said that Netanyahu “had made a mistake by releasing the documents. “He opened Pandora's box, and now they are trying to close it again. They won’t succeed," he said.

“We deserve clear answers from the Prime Minister’s Office: who wrote the document? Who approved it? Who is responsible for the systematic falsification of documents, the leaking of sensitive security information, and the misleading of the public on matters of national security?” Lapid asked in the press conference.

The opposition leader claimed that in the document, Netanyahu falsified a situation assessment held in the Prime Minister’s Office on October 1, 2023, six days before the massacre.

There had been urgent intelligence warnings regarding Hamas’s preparations for combat in Gaza, which Lapid said he was familiar with at the time.

However, Netanyahu had told the defense officials in the meeting not to strike in Gaza, Lapid said.

The prime minister's response to the state comptroller in the document was short and “stripped of all context,” not reflecting the reality of what occurred, he claimed.

“In the real summary of the discussion, Netanyahu instructed to advance the civilian 'arrangement' with Hamas, meaning more money for Hamas and an increase in the number of workers entering from Gaza,” Lapid said.

The opposition leader said that an official letter has been sent to open a criminal investigation against Netanyahu. It was sent to the legal advisors of both the Prime Minister’s Office and the Defense Ministry, calling for answers.

“Based on the responses provided, the Shin Bet and the police will need to decide whether to open a criminal investigation, and against whom,” Lapid said.

Former military officials have spoken out against Netanyahu's response to the state comptroller as well. Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu’s previous defense minister who was in office during October 7 and was fired by the prime minister in November 2024, called him a liar on Saturday evening over the released document in an interview with Channel 12.

Gallant argued that snippets were taken out of discussions from long periods of time and pieced together “to be turned into a news item.” He also argued that the prime minister made incorrect claims about where he was on the day of the October 7 attacks.

Ahead of releasing the document, Netanyahu held a confidential security assessment at the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday. The panel led to clashes over remarks he made regarding the government’s handling of the October 7 massacre.

In the five-hour meeting, Netanyahu presented protocols from a decade prior. The Knesset confirmed that he had dedicated a significant portion of the discussion to the state comptroller’s review regarding October 7, and presented the committee with material he had shown to the comptroller.

The prime minister also reportedly read quotes from political rivals such as former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Yashar! Party leader and ex-IDF chief-of-staff Gadi Eisenkot.

Netanyahu’s remarks led Yesh Atid MKs to leave the meeting. The party released a statement that they “will not take part in the prime minister’s media circus.”

Yesh Atid said the meeting was “intended to evade the truth investigation into the October 7 disaster and turn the committee into an empty PR show.”

Netanyahu arrived with pre-prepared talking points from his office, in a desperate attempt to engineer public perception and rewrite history, the opposition party said.

In recent months, the government has been advancing a controversial bill that aims to establish a politically-appointed committee to investigate the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7 attack.