Netanyahu seeks to link the protest movement among the reserve forces and the announcement of refusal to comply with military service in protest against the plan to weaken the judiciary, and the motives of the Hamas leadership for launching the attack on October 7th.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to link the public rejection of military service in protest against his government's plan to weaken the judiciary, with the attack carried out by the Al-Qassam Brigades, on October 7, on Israeli military sites and towns around the besieged Gaza Strip.

This came during a briefing he gave to journalists in Israeli media, on Sunday evening, during which he was asked about the extent of his “feeling of guilt” and his responsibility for the failures that preceded the Qassam attack, and the extent of the preparations he had made in light of the warnings provided by intelligence agencies of a possible attack.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli media reported what was stated in the briefing in the words of a senior official, while Netanyahu later retracted the statements of this official, whom the Minister in the “War Cabinet”, Benny Gantz, confirmed was Netanyahu himself.

Netanyahu said that he is not preoccupied with “feelings of guilt.” Rather, he is “busy with only one thing, which is managing the war.” When journalists answered him that “the public is already preoccupied with this matter,” he said: “Let the public discuss, deal with, and be preoccupied with that.”

Netanyahu sought to link the widespread public campaign to refuse military service in protest against his government's plan to weaken the judiciary, and the behavior of the head of the Hamas movement, Yahya Sinwar, in reference to the "Al-Aqsa Flood" attack.

Netanyahu believes that the expansion of the phenomenon of refusal to military service in the reserve forces and in the ranks of the regular forces, led by the Air Force, constituted an incentive for Sinwar to launch the operation on October 7th last year.

During the press briefing, Netanyahu was asked if he “felt guilty” about the attack of last October 7, and if he “prepared for war based on the warnings of the army leadership.” Netanyahu denied that he had received any warnings.

Netanyahu said that he "warned, even at the height of the protests (against the plan to weaken the judiciary), of the consequences of public refusal to serve on Israel's enemies." He added, "After the war, there will be those who will examine the relationship between the public refusal to serve and Sinwar's movements."

When he was asked to clarify his statements and whether he meant that the announcement of refusal to serve in the military in protest against the plan to weaken the judiciary had contributed to the Hamas attack, Netanyahu said: “That is not what I said. I said that this will be examined.”

Netanyahu's statements quickly caused a new uproar and a state of disapproval among the government, the opposition, and the protest movement alike. He was quick to ward off the charges against himself via a post on the "X" platform, and said, "Hamas launched a war against us because it is interested in killing us all, not because of internal disputes between us."

In response to these statements, the Minister in the “War Cabinet,” Benny Gantz, said in a post on the “X” website, “The rate of compliance with orders to call up reserves has exceeded 100%, and the exceptional recruitment of forces is the overwhelming response to all our enemies.”

He added, "Evading responsibility and defaming (soldiers and military officials) during war harms the security of the state. The Prime Minister must retract his statements in a clear and unambiguous manner."

Following Gantz’s post, Netanyahu’s office issued a brief statement saying: “The Prime Minister did not say in any way that it was the refusal (refusal to comply with military service) that prompted Hamas to attack Israel.”

He added, "The Prime Minister had said before the war that our enemies should not make mistakes. At the necessary time, everyone will prepare for military service, as has actually happened."

For its part, the "Brothers in Arms" movement, which led the reserve forces' protests against the plan to weaken the judiciary, said, "Netanyahu is once again planting a knife in the back of the fighters during the war. The whole people are an army - except for your sons - and you alone continue to tear the people apart."

In statements he issued during a tour of the “Ramon” military hall, in the south of the country, Netanyahu alluded to this, saying: “Our enemies have made a mistake against us. They thought that we would not comply (with military service) when the matter called for it.”

"We have complied (with military orders) and will now fight side by side," he continued. "I want you to know that there is one thing we will not do: there will be no ceasefire without the return of our abductees."

It is noteworthy that Netanyahu refuses, until this moment, to bear responsibility for the failures that preceded the attack on October 7, and instead said that “everyone will have to provide answers after the war, including me.”

It is noteworthy that Netanyahu had held the heads of the Shin Bet and the Military Intelligence Division responsible for the failure to anticipate the Hamas attack, in a brief statement that he quickly retracted, in which he indicated that he had not received any warnings of an attack similar to the October 7 attack.

Netanyahu said, "He was not warned, under any circumstances and at any stage, of war intentions on the part of Hamas. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of Aman and the head of the Shin Bet, estimated that Hamas was deterred and would resort to a settlement."

He added, "These are the estimates that all the security and intelligence services presented to the prime minister and the cabinet time after time, until the moment the war broke out." The next day, Netanyahu deleted the statement he shared on the "X" platform and apologized for it.

Arab48