Israeli opposition leaders demand state inquiry after report Netanyahu ignored pre-Oct. 7 warning

Four Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday demanded a state commission of inquiry after a media report said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an explicit warning about Hamas plans shortly before the Oct. 7, 2023 events, but failed to inform Israel’s security chiefs.

Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan issued a joint statement in response to the report, saying Israelis deserve to know what happened before, during and after the Oct. 7 events.

“Netanyahu, enough with the lies; the Israeli public deserves to know: What did you know, and when did you know?” they said in the statement posted on Eisenkot’s X account.

The four opposition leaders said the report required an “immediate and thorough investigation,” arguing that it added to previous revelations about Netanyahu’s failures and conduct surrounding the Oct. 7 events.

“While Netanyahu and his people spread false conspiracy theories and try to place responsibility on the security establishment, it is becoming clear once again that serious warnings reached him directly and he ignored them,” the statement said.

They accused Netanyahu of “extreme negligence” in carrying out his duties as prime minister.

“The Israeli public deserves to know: What did Netanyahu know, when did he know, why did he not update the security establishment, and why did he not act to protect Israeli citizens?” they added.

The opposition leaders pledged to establish a state commission of inquiry immediately if they form the next government, saying it would investigate the failures that led to Oct. 7.

They also said Netanyahu and his government partners were “unfit to continue in office,” pledging to work together to prevent them from “leading to another disaster.”

The statement came after Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had explicitly warned Netanyahu roughly 10 days before the Oct. 7 events that then Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation.

According to the report, the UAE president spoke with Netanyahu for about 45 minutes and expressed concern that the planned operation could lead to bloodshed and destabilize the region.

Haaretz said Netanyahu did not brief the heads of the Shin Bet security agency and Mossad intelligence service or the Israeli army chief about the warning.

Netanyahu’s office rejected the report as an “absolute lie,” saying the prime minister did not speak with the UAE president during the period in question and received no such warning.

UAE authorities did not comment on the report.

On Oct. 8, 2023, the Israeli army launched a brutal offensive on Gaza that has killed more than 73,000 people, injured over 174,000 and destroyed much of the territory’s civilian infrastructure.