Former Shin Bet deputy calls for investigation into October 7 failures — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, former deputy director of the Shin Bet internal security service Israel Hasson called for a formal investigation into the failures related to Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. He said this on 103FM amid public disputes over responsibility: statements by then-military secretary to the prime minister Avi Gil and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar contradict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s account of events, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The need for a formal review
Hasson said that he spent four and a half hours reviewing Shin Bet’s internal investigation. According to him, the service asked itself all the necessary questions, but he still did not receive an answer about the reasons for the failure.
The former official drew attention to the scale of the attack. In his assessment, about 3,000 people took part in it, yet there was no specific warning. He called it regrettable that representatives of the security establishment and politicians are publicly arguing over responsibility instead of conducting a comprehensive review.
In Hasson’s view, a commission of inquiry should show the public exactly where the problem arose, what caused it, and what conclusions should be drawn to prevent such events from recurring.
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The role of the military secretariat
Hasson stated that the prime minister’s military secretary has a broader picture of intelligence information than an individual service at any given moment. According to him, the military secretariat employs 15 officers who have access to intelligence data and systematize assessments from Shin Bet, military intelligence, Mossad, and other bodies for the head of government.
He also referred to the conclusions of the Agranat Commission, which investigated failures during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. According to Hasson, the presence of intent and capabilities on the enemy’s side should be grounds for heightened readiness without waiting for a final warning. He stressed that the military’s assessment does not absolve the political leadership of responsibility.
The dispute between Netanyahu and Bar
Hasson also commented on the lawsuit that former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar filed against Netanyahu. He believes that this conflict goes beyond a personal dispute and called the prime minister’s accusations against Bar extremely serious.
