Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu falsified official security protocols in the days leading up to the October 7, 2023, massacre and called for a criminal investigation during a Yesh Atid faction meeting on Monday.
Lapid cited a situation assessment from the Prime Minister’s Office dated October 1, 2023, six days before the Hamas-led attacks. He said that then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar recommended preparing for a series of escalation scenarios in Gaza, and that then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi advised preparing an operational plan in the Gaza Strip.
“The recommendations of Ronen Bar and Herzi Halevi came following particularly urgent and serious intelligence warnings about Hamas preparing for combat in Gaza,” Lapid said.
Lapid went on to describe a document associated with Netanyahu as falsifying official protocols. “The Netanyahu document constitutes a falsification of security protocols in an official document issued from the Prime Minister’s Office, in a way that must have been intentional,” he said.
He added, “The problem is not that Netanyahu lies. That he lies is not exactly news. What is happening here is much more serious. Deliberate editing of protocols from security discussions is a violation of the Official Secrets Law.”
Lapid then said he sent letters to senior security and legal officials requesting answers.
“Today I sent a letter to the Security Supervisor in the security system, the legal advisor of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the legal advisor of the Ministry of Defense demanding answers. Based on the answers received, the Shin Bet and the police will need to decide whether to open a criminal investigation, and against whom,” he said.