Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu did not accept recommendation to eliminate Sinwar before October 7
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 1, 2023, did not accept a recommendation for the targeted elimination of Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar and other senior representatives of the group. The Jerusalem Post reports this, citing a source in the security establishment.
According to the publication, less than a week before Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, then-head of Shin Bet Ronen Bar met with Netanyahu. He told the prime minister that the service had identified signs that Hamas was preparing for “something extreme,” and also used the word “earthquake” during the conversation.
Shin Bet recommendation
A source in the security establishment confirmed that the information was reported to Netanyahu and that a proposal to strike Sinwar and other Hamas leaders was submitted for his consideration. At the same time, the prime minister did not accept this recommendation. The Jerusalem Post source said that reports that have appeared recently on this matter are accurate.
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Warning from the UAE
The Jerusalem Post also mentions a Haaretz investigation, according to which United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed, around a week and a half before the attack, warned Netanyahu that Sinwar was preparing major action against Israel. According to these data, the leaders spoke by phone for around 45 minutes, and the UAE president noted that such actions could lead to bloodshed, destabilize the region, and harm the Abraham Accords.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Haaretz that Mohammed bin Zayed had repeatedly expressed concern to him about the situation in the months before the war. According to the same investigation, the UAE president's warning was not passed on to the heads of Shin Bet, Mossad, and the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
Representatives of Israel's security establishment, however, rejected claims that a different outcome would have been inevitable if Netanyahu or the defense minister had received the information on the night of October 6-7. According to them, the intelligence picture available at the time was incomplete, and there was insufficient time to redeploy significant forces or conduct an operation to disrupt the attack.
