PM Netanyahu sought to evade accountability for October 7 attack Former aide alleges

A former aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that immediately after Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, the head of government instructed him to figure out how to avoid personal responsibility for the security failure.

Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, currently facing trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the press, made explosive claims in a detailed interview with Israel’s Kan news channel on the night of December 22, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Associated Press (AP).

Feldstein said that after Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, Netanyahu’s “first task” for him was to suppress calls for accountability.

“He asked me, ‘What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility?” Feldstein noted. “He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not.”

He added that Netanyahu appeared “panicked” when making the request. Feldstein later said that people in Netanyahu’s inner circle instructed him to avoid using the word “responsibility” in all statements.

Netanyahu’s office dismissed the claims as a “long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from himself.”

Feldstein’s remarks come after he was indicted for allegedly leaking classified military information to a German tabloid to bolster Netanyahu’s public image following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August 2024.

He is also under investigation in the “Qatargate” scandal, one of two close aides accused of accepting funds from Qatar while serving the prime minister.

By Jeyhun Aghazada