Netanyahu's team may have tampered with phone records from Oct. 7: NYT
6 Min Read
The charges reinforce what many believe is Netanyahu's dishonest tactics to divert attention from his shortcomings and continue to put his own political survival first.
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Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference at the Government Press Office in occupied a-Quds on September 4, 2024. (AP)
On the morning of October 7, 2023, a senior Israeli general called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn him that hundreds of Palestinian Resistance fighters seemed ready to cross the Gaza border into occupied territories, The New York Times reported.
A year later, Netanyahu’s aides are under investigation for allegedly altering the official record of that call, according to four sources familiar with the probe.
This investigation is just one of several allegations against Netanyahu’s staff in recent weeks. While Netanyahu himself is not the subject of the police inquiry, his office is being investigated for attempting to improve his public image during the war by leaking classified military documents, altering the official records of his conversations, and intimidating staff by controlling access to these records.
These cases have fueled growing concerns among Netanyahu’s critics that his team may have used unlawful methods to shape his image.
Case 1: Phone records
On October 7, 2023, the day the Palestinian Resistance conducted Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Netanyahu spoke frequently on the phone with top security officials, including his military secretary, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil.
Gil sparked the inquiry after he filed a complaint with the attorney general that his transcripts with Netanyahu on the morning of October 7 had appeared to have been modified. Gil alleged that a senior aide to the prime minister had pressured one of the transcribers to alter the records.
In one of the calls early on October 7, General Gil reportedly informed Netanyahu that hundreds of Hamas fighters had begun acting in ways that suggested an imminent attack, according to three sources briefed on the investigation. The timing of this call is believed to be one of the details that was changed in the official records.
The content and timing of these calls are significant, as they could expose Netanyahu as a liar.
Netanyahu is advocating for the creation of a private committee of inquiry into the failures of October 7, "to prevent the formation of an official state commission of inquiry," according to Israel Hayom.
Case 2: Embarrassing video
According to four sources briefed on the matter, the forgery case has been exacerbated by concerns that a Netanyahu associate threatened a military officer in charge of the phone records.
The officials said a security camera in the Prime Minister's office captured the officer performing an act that may disgrace him personally.
Reportedly a top prime ministerial assistant approached the officer after the incident and informed him that he had managed to get a video of the humiliating behavior. According to the officials, the senior assistant was also the one who allegedly gave the transcriber instructions to alter the transcripts of Netanyahu's talks.
Case 3: Leaked document
Officials familiar with the matter also say Netanyahu’s aides are accused of secretly providing a sensitive document to a foreign news outlet.
The document was published in early September when Netanyahu was under pressure from large sectors of Israeli society to approve a ceasefire with Hamas, which would lead to the release of dozens of Israeli captives.
Netanyahu opposed the ceasefire, arguing that its terms would allow Hamas to regroup. To strengthen his position, Netanyahu referenced an article in the German newspaper Bild on September 8, which cited a memo from a Hamas intelligence officer, later obtained by the Israeli military and leaked to the press.
Investigators are now examining whether Netanyahu cited a document leaked by his aides. However, there is no indication that Netanyahu himself is under investigation or has been questioned.
According to the six sources briefed on the matter, the Shin Bet is investigating the leak because it came from a highly classified military intelligence database. As part of the inquiry, four unidentified policemen who are suspected of aiding in the acquisition of the document have been arrested, including Eli Feldstein, one of Netanyahu's aides.
The charges reinforce what many believe is Netanyahu's dishonest tactics to divert attention from his shortcomings. Critics contend that his aides have put his political survival ahead of the occupation.
Contrary to his claim, Netanyahu's office received intelligence early on October 7
Israeli media outlets published a summary of an in-depth investigation by security and intelligence journalist Ronen Bergman, confirming that Netanyahu's office received intelligence about the Gaza Strip hours before the October 7 attack.
The investigation revealed that "the army's findings contradict the statements of Netanyahu's office staff, who deny receiving any information before the attack" and that the security officer in Netanyahu's office began receiving alarming intelligence as early as 2:00 am on October 7.
Read next: Netanyahu burned documents after Hamas operation: Israeli media
Meanwhile, the Israeli journalist revealed that the security officer who received the information was the same individual who was allegedly blackmailed with an "embarrassing" video by officials in Netanyahu's office, according to published reports.
The investigation also uncovered intelligence regarding the widespread use of Israeli communications chips in Gaza and the movement of Hamas' senior military leadership toward fortified areas, suggesting the possibility of an impending attack.
However, according to the Israeli journalist, all intelligence officials, including the Southern Command intelligence officer, believed that this information did not indicate a large-scale Hamas operation. Instead, they speculated it might have been related to training exercises or preparations to defend against a potential Israeli strike.
Shin Bet joins IOF in investigating October 7 failures
Last March, Israeli media reports indicated that the Israeli army and the Shin Bet considered opening investigations and conducting inquiries into the military failures on October 7 and the subsequent setbacks.
The military analyst of the Israeli Walla! website, Amir Bohbot, said estimations within the security and military establishment suggest that the investigation will trigger disputes among senior officials in the Israeli army regarding the narrative, investigations, data, and analysis of the events and decisions that led to October 7.
"Debates that may harm the functioning of the Israeli army as a whole," he added.
