Netanyahu's Oct. 7 Testimony: Claims Shin Bet Lowballed Threat, 'Jericho Wall' Plan Hidden

The Pre-Attack Assessment

According to testimony reported by Channel 14 journalist Noam Amir, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that no warning signs were conveyed to him through his military secretary on the night before the October 7 attack. Netanyahu emphasized that even during a situational assessment held by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar approximately 75 minutes before the massacre began, the professional evaluation remained that the probability of a broad conflict was low.

This testimony reinforces a recurring theme in the Prime Minister's public defense: that the security and intelligence echelons failed to provide the political leadership with the necessary alerts to prevent the disaster. As The Zioneer reported previously, Netanyahu has consistently claimed that defense officials did not wake him on the morning of the attack, a point he reiterated in this latest testimony to the oversight body.

The 'Jericho Wall' Allegations

A central pillar of Netanyahu's testimony involves the 'Jericho Wall' plan—a detailed Hamas blueprint for a mass invasion of southern Israel. Netanyahu claimed that all security agencies had unequivocally stated to him that Hamas lacked the capability to execute a large-scale raid beyond a small squad or platoon at two locations at most.

He alleged that he only discovered after the fact that 'Jericho Wall' had been drafted as an operational order as early as the summer of 2021, following Operation Guardian of the Walls. "Information about the plan and the training carried out by Hamas for this scenario did not reach me at all," Netanyahu reportedly told the Comptroller, questioning how a leader is expected to make decisions when professional bodies fail to reflect the true status of the enemy.

Discrepancies in Documentation

Netanyahu also raised a severe allegation regarding the integrity of the Shin Bet's internal investigation. He claimed that a paragraph was "miraculously added" to a document that had been sent in real-time, suggesting a discrepancy between the original records from the morning of October 7 and the version presented in later security debriefs.

While the Prime Minister acknowledged his own prior assessment that quiet would prevail for years following 2021, he maintained that this view was based on the consensus provided by the security establishment. The testimony highlights the deepening rift between the Prime Minister's Office and the heads of the security services as the state investigation into the failures of October 7 continues.