In a post on X/Twitter Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that he received no warnings before the October 7 Hamas attack.
At the same time, he laid the blame on the intelligence agencies – in particular Aharon Haliva, the top head of Israeli Defense Intelligence, and Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security service.
It created strong reactions – and on Sunday morning he deleted the post, writes the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In a post on X, he now apologizes for the now-deleted statement.
– I was wrong. Things I said after the press conference should not have been said, and I apologize for that. I give full support to all the leaders of the security service (…). Together we will win, he writes.
I was wrong. Things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologize for that. I give full backing to all the heads of the security arms. I am strengthening the Chief of Staff and the commanders and soldiers of the IDF who are at the front and fighting for the house. together we will win.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) October 29, 2023
Among those who reacted was former foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who asked Netanyahu to remove the post.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also wrote on X that the Israeli prime minister has “crossed a red line”, and asked him to apologise.
– The attempts to evade responsibility and place the blame on the intelligence agencies weaken the Israeli military (IDF) as they fight against Israel’s enemies, he wrote.
2023-10-29 09:33:45
#wrong
/data/photo/2023/10/29/653e23eab6e69.jpg "Fire Breaks Out at Bantargebang Integrated Waste Management Site in Bekasi City")