(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a barrage of criticism after appearing to shift blame onto his security agencies for the intelligence failures preceding the Oct. 7 terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas militants.
Netanyahu initially posted a tweet holding the Israeli military responsible for the attack, but the controversial tweet was swiftly deleted. In a subsequent post, the Israeli prime minister acknowledged that he “was wrong.”
“Things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologize for that,” Netanyahu said on Sunday. “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. [T]ogether we will win.”
Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and military chief, was among the notable voices condemning Netanyahu’s apparent disregard for his security chiefs.
“When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, decide to do the right things and strengthen the forces in a way that they can to realize what we demand from them,” Gantz declared on Twitter, directly responding to Netanyahu’s remarks. “Any other action or statement – harms the people’s ability to stand and their strength. The Prime Minister must retract his statement last night, and stop dealing with the issue.”
The controversy began after the inhumane attacks by Hamas terrorists into the southern region of Israel, resulting in the barbaric deaths of over 1,400 individuals, including several U.S. citizens.
The attack marked the deadliest massacre in Israel’s 75-year history, with over 200 individuals still held hostage by the Hamas militants in Gaza.
Critics have raised questions about how the Israeli government failed to anticipate or prepare for the terrorist attack, prompting demands for accountability. Former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan voiced his demand for Netanyahu’s resignation. “I think that Benjamin Netanyahu failed so terribly that he should resign from his position as soon as possible,” he stated in an interview with CNN on Oct. 24.
Yair Golan, the retired IDF deputy chief of staff and former lawmaker who rescued kids from the Nova festival, says, “I think that Benjamin Netanyahu failed so terribly that he should resign from his position as soon as possible.” pic.twitter.com/GpyrRE8wJb
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 24, 2023
