Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, filed a 3 million shekel (approximately $975,000) defamation lawsuit against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of spreading false allegations to shift responsibility for the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023 onto Bar alone. The lawsuit marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running public blame war between the two men over the intelligence failures that allowed the deadliest attack on Israeli soil in decades.

Core Allegations in the Lawsuit

Bar, who served as director of Israel's domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, from 2021 to 2025, acknowledged that the agency bore a share of responsibility for failing to prevent the 7 October 2023 attack. However, he rejected what he characterised as Netanyahu's campaign to place the blame exclusively on him.

The lawsuit alleges that Netanyahu spread a 'blood libel' by claiming Bar had advance knowledge of the impending Hamas assault but deliberately withheld the information from relevant authorities — an accusation Bar flatly denied. According to the lawsuit, Bar presented Netanyahu with a timeline of warnings of an impending disaster beginning as early as November 2022, which he alleges were either ignored or met with wholly inadequate responses.

Bar's Broader Accusations Against Netanyahu

Beyond the defamation claim, Bar pointed to what he described as Netanyahu's direct policy responsibility — specifically, a strategy of 'containment' toward Hamas that involved maintaining a fragile calm in Gaza while allowing the militant group to consolidate and expand its military capabilities, partly through continued funding channels.

Bar also cited the government's refusal to establish a formal state commission of inquiry into the events of 7 October, as well as reports of alleged attempts to alter official protocols and what he characterised as incitement against senior security officials. He stated these developments collectively prompted him to file the lawsuit at this time.

Netanyahu's Response

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Netanyahu issued a brief public statement, asserting that Bar had access to a secure phone line through which he could have contacted the Prime Minister directly on the night of 7 October 2023. Netanyahu claimed that lives could have been saved had Bar made that call in time — a rebuttal that appeared to double down on the assertion that Bar bore operational responsibility for the failures of that night.

A Standoff Since Early 2025

The lawsuit formalises a conflict that had been simmering since early 2025. Netanyahu announced Bar's dismissal from the Shin Bet in March 2025, citing a breakdown in confidence. Bar, in his public response to the sacking, reiterated calls for a state commission of inquiry to investigate 'all relevant parties,' explicitly naming government policies and Netanyahu himself as subjects for scrutiny.

Notably, the absence of any independent inquiry — which Israel has not yet convened for the events of 7 October 2023 — remains a point of intense domestic controversy. The lawsuit now adds a legal front to what has largely been a political and media battle. How Israeli courts handle a defamation case of this magnitude, involving the sitting prime minister and the country's former domestic intelligence chief, will be closely watched both inside Israel and internationally.