Netanyahu omitted the October 1, 2023, meeting from his answers to the state comptroller\u2019s inquiry into October 7 that he released on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prime minister expressed great appreciation to all the security services on their activities to maintain the quiet on all fronts,\u201d reads the leaked summary from the protocol of that meeting, \u201cwith an emphasis on the holidays, and stresses that we must act with moderation in order to cool down the fronts and avoid escalation\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meeting, according to the network, the security chiefs recommended that Israel move toward assassinating Hamas leaders. However, Netanyahu conditioned any such operations on conflict breaking out, and even then instructed the defense establishment to focus on the West Bank leadership.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Netanyahu, the report said, defined Israel\u2019s prime goals as making progress on normalization with Saudi Arabia and avoiding any escalation with adversaries.<\/p>\n \t Netanyahu, Mossad Chief David Barnea, then-defense minister Yoav Gallant, then-Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, then-national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and then-strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer attended the October 1, 2023, meeting, held at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n Senior defense officials told Channel 12 that Netanyahu\u2019s release of selected quotations took them out of context and did \u201cirreparable damage\u201d to ties between the political leadership and defense officials.<\/p>\n \u2018The Israeli Forrest Gump\u2019: Ex-PM Bennett mocks Netanyahu<\/p>\n Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, in a video statement Sunday evening, mocked Netanyahu\u2019s document, calling the longtime premier \u201cthe Israeli Forrest Gump, a weak, pitiful, helpless nebbish who just happened to stumble into events.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not a leader, but someone who is led. He is not a commander, but a subordinate,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n The video statement from the former premier, who is considered Netanyahu\u2019s most credible challenger in this year\u2019s elections, referred to the classic 1994 film whose title character is a bystander to, or unwitting influence on, a series of pivotal events in the postwar US. The word \u201cnebbish\u201d is a Yiddish pejorative roughly translating<\/a> to \u201closer.\u201d<\/p>\n \t \u201cNetanyahu has criticism of the security establishment \u2014 so do I,\u201d Bennett said, but noted that Netanyahu was \u201cnot a cabinet minister. He was the prime minister of Israel and the supreme commander of the State of Israel for 12.5 out of the 14 years preceding the greatest disaster in Israel\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n He further criticized and mocked the prime minister for suggesting that he was \u201cincapable\u201d of commanding his own army or intelligence organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat emerges from it is that Netanyahu did not lead, did not manage, and did not govern,\u201d Bennett said, adding that while the prime minister sought to absolve himself, he has instead drafted \u201cthe most severe indictment imaginable against a prime minister in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cIn the 55 pages of this document, you see a weak man who allows the Hezbollah monster to grow before his eyes in the north and the Hamas monster to grow in the south to enormous dimensions, and he does nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) speaks to Mossad chief David Barnea at Mossad headquarters during a Rosh Hashanah toast on September 14, 2023. (Kobi Gideon\/GPO)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/F260122AVS112-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tFormer prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a conference in Herzliya on November 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/ Flash90)<\/p>\n
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