Netanyahu Faces Oct. 7 Warning Claims 30 Days Before Israel's Oct. 27 Election
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 29
Netanyahu Faces Oct. 7 Warning Claims 30 Days Before Israel's Oct. 27 Election
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 29
Summary
Less than 30 days before Israel's Oct. 27 vote, reports that Benjamin Netanyahu ignored warnings before Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack have become the campaign's dominant issue.
New accounts say UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed and Egypt's then-intelligence chief warned Netanyahu about a serious Gaza threat, while a Palestinian intermediary said Yahya Sinwar had threatened an "earthquake" if talks failed.
Netanyahu and Likud deny the reports and call them a coordinated smear campaign, but the UAE has not explicitly disavowed the alleged warning call and Netanyahu is accused of resisting an independent inquiry.
The controversy has sharpened scrutiny of Netanyahu's effort to blame security chiefs for the attack; on Monday, former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar sued him for defamation.
Polls still show former military chief Gadi Eisenkot's party only narrowly ahead of Likud, suggesting the allegations may hurt Netanyahu without yet producing a decisive electoral shift.