Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu briefed the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee behind closed doors on Thursday on security and diplomatic matters, but the discussion quickly devolved into a tense showdown with opposition lawmakers.

In the course of the session, Netanyahu disclosed that at 5:15 a.m. on October 7, 2023, the Shin Bet (ISA) circulated a formal document summarizing all alerts received overnight from the Gaza Strip. He said the paper did not reach his office until 9:47 a.m., more than four hours after it had been issued.

Netanyahu asserted that the original version of the document contained no directive to notify the Prime Minister. He said that only in more recent Shin Bet submissions did an instruction to inform him suddenly appear, alleging that the agency retroactively inserted that directive. The document bears the signature of then–Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

The Prime Minister added that he forwarded these findings to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman as part of the ongoing probes into the October 7 events, saying Englman was “amazed” by what he saw. Members of the committee were also described as reacting with disbelief.

Earlier in the briefing, Netanyahu read aloud excerpts from previous Cabinet meeting protocols and argued that former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had repeatedly prevented large-scale operations in the Gaza Strip.

“Bennett always opposed the occupation of Gaza,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying as he cited the protocols.

The atmosphere deteriorated further when several opposition lawmakers walked out of the meeting, voicing sharp criticism. “Is this why we came to the session? To hear Bibi reading us protocols from the Cabinet against Bennett, [Gadi] Eisenkot, and [Benny] Gantz?”

“Does he think we’re stupid? They didn’t even let us ask a single question.”

{Matzav.com}