Benjamin Netanyahu is counterattacking as the most pressing question in Israel returns: what did the prime minister know before October 7th and, more importantly, what did he do during the Hamas massacre? A Haaretz investigation claims that, about ten days before the massacre, the Israeli prime minister was personally warned by United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed of the offensive Yahya Sinwar was preparing. Netanyahu denies everything and announces a lawsuit against the newspaper and journalist Shlomi Eldar, author of the book on which this reconstruction is based.

According to the investigation, a phone call lasting approximately 45 minutes was held between Netanyahu and bin Zayed at the end of September 2023. The Emirati president discussed Sinwar's plans and the risk of a large-scale attack, capable of causing significant regional destabilization and jeopardizing the Abraham Accords. However, the warning was not passed on to Israeli security officials . Netanyahu, however, denies the accusation and maintains that there is no trace of the phone call in his office documents.

The prime minister calls the investigation "a lie" and a "wicked plot" with precise political timing, just weeks before the Israeli elections on October 27. There will be "more false accusations" before the vote, he claims, and points the finger at the left: "They want to exploit the tragedy of October 7" to attack his government.

But the controversy isn't just about the Emirati warning. The reconstruction of what happened in the hours following the attack is also a factor. Bibi was reportedly informed of the attack at 6:29 a.m., but didn't speak to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi until 9:55 a.m.

His presence at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv is also the subject of differing versions: according to his reconstruction, the prime minister arrived at 8:00 a.m., while the Shin Bet minutes place his entry into the bunker later, and it was only at 9:30 a.m., three hours after the attack began, that Netanyahu convened a meeting. At 11:35 a.m., he addressed the country for the first time, announcing: "Citizens of Israel, we are at war." At 1:45 p.m., the order was given to destroy the Hamas forces that had entered Israeli territory.

Netanyahu points the finger at former Shin Bet chiefs Ronen Bar and Herzi Halevi, the head of the General Staff. "They saw all the warning signs many hours before the attack began," the prime minister accused. " If, instead of fearing an escalation, they had ordered the IDF, the Shin Bet, and the rapid response units to prevent the attack, and if they had briefed me in time, it would have been possible to prevent the horrific massacre."

(Unioneonline/D)

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