Ex-Shin Bet Chief Sues Netanyahu for Defamation Over Oct. 7 Claims

Good Morning, Israel · Thursday, October 15, 2026 · 8:08

Episode 18 · Thursday, October 15, 2026 · 8:08

0:008:08

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The stories Maya and Daniel cover, in order. Read any of them in full on baba News.

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Maya: The man who ran the Shin Bet on October seventh is taking the Prime Minister to court.
Daniel: Ronen Bar is suing Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation, for millions of shekels.
Maya: This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Thursday, October fifteenth. I'm Maya.
Daniel: And I'm Daniel.
Maya: Start with the lawsuit. Who is Ronen Bar, for anyone just joining?
Daniel: He's the former director of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security service. He was in charge on October seventh, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel.
Maya: And what exactly is he suing over?
Daniel: Bar says Prime Minister Netanyahu falsely claimed that Bar withheld intelligence ahead of October seventh. Bar calls that defamation.
Maya: So the argument is about who knew what, and who told whom.
Daniel: Exactly. And the lawsuit goes further than denial. According to the suit, Bar warned Netanyahu repeatedly throughout twenty twenty-three about Hamas's intentions and its military buildup. Bar says those warnings were ignored.
Maya: Which echoes what we told you yesterday, about the Egyptian intelligence chief who landed in Israel before the attack.
Daniel: Right. Different source, same question. What reached the Prime Minister, and what was done with it.
Maya: Is Bar claiming he did nothing wrong himself?
Daniel: No, and that's interesting. In the suit he acknowledges his own responsibility for the intelligence failures. He says he wants the truth revealed in court.
Maya: So it's not, I'm innocent. It's, I failed, but not the way you said.
Daniel: That's a fair summary. He also cites his opposition to policies that, he alleges, ended up funding Hamas.
Maya: Meaning the cash that flowed into Gaza over the years.
Daniel: That's the area he's pointing to, yes. And Netanyahu's position all along has been that the security services didn't give him a clear warning. Now a court may get to weigh both versions.
Maya: What comes next?
Daniel: Netanyahu's legal response. And with the election close, every page of this filing becomes campaign material.
Maya: Now a terrible story from Beitar Illit. That's an ultra-Orthodox city just southwest of Jerusalem.
Daniel: A ten-year-old boy died there on Wednesday. A recycling bin was burning, there was an explosion, and an object was thrown out by the blast. It struck the boy, and his injuries were fatal.
Maya: What do investigators think caused it?
Daniel: Initial reports suggest children set the bin on fire, and an aerosol can inside exploded. But investigators stress they're still determining the exact cause.
Maya: An aerosol can. Something in every kitchen.
Daniel: Right, and that's the warning here. Pressurized cans in a fire can burst with real force. A burning trash bin is not something to stand near.
Maya: A family has lost a child. We'll follow the investigation.
Daniel: To diplomacy, and a big win for Israel in Latin America.
Maya: Colombia is back. And it's not just back, it's in Jerusalem.
Daniel: Colombia inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday. According to Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, it's the tenth country to place its embassy there.
Maya: And two years ago these two countries weren't speaking.
Daniel: Right. The previous Colombian government cut ties with Israel. The new President, Abelardo de la Espriella, promised during his campaign to restore them. He's delivered.
Maya: What else comes with the embassy?
Daniel: The free trade agreement is back in force. They plan to expand cooperation in security, technology and trade. And Colombia has withdrawn from the Hague Group.
Maya: Remind people what that is.
Daniel: An international coalition of countries that set out to target Israel over the war in Gaza. Colombia leaving it is a real reversal.
Maya: And the reaction in Jerusalem?
Daniel: Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the renewed relationship. Saar called it a major diplomatic achievement. And Colombia's Foreign Minister, Omar Bula Escobar, called it a historic event.
Maya: Two years from rupture to an embassy in the capital. That's a fast turnaround.
Daniel: It is. And Bula Escobar is in Israel for high-level meetings, so there's more to come.
Maya: Now a security case that's hard to hear. A soldier who wasn't really a soldier.
Daniel: The Beersheba District Court sentenced Shehadeh Abu Al-Kiaan, a Bedouin citizen of Israel, to twenty-four and a half years in prison. He collaborated with a terrorist organization in Gaza and infiltrated the I D F.
Maya: Infiltrated how far?
Daniel: He stole weapons and passed on intelligence about Israeli targets. He was arrested just eight days after enlisting.
Maya: Eight days. So someone was watching.
Daniel: Clearly. On top of the prison term, there's a suspended sentence and a fine. And his citizenship is under review.
Maya: What did prosecutors say?
Daniel: They stressed the exceptional gravity of an Israeli citizen aiding terrorists. Most Bedouin who serve do so loyally, which is part of why a betrayal like this lands so hard.
Maya: Gaza now, and a strike you might not expect. Gaza's merchants are refusing to work.
Daniel: Because of Hamas. The merchants say the terrorist organization has been making extortionate demands and threats. The trigger was Hamas arresting a merchant's son.
Maya: So Hamas is squeezing the people who bring food in.
Daniel: Right. And Major General Yoram Halevy, an Israeli official, warns this could cut goods entering the Strip by fifty percent.
Maya: And let me guess who gets blamed.
Daniel: That's the concern. The warning is that Hamas could blame Israel for a shortage that Hamas itself is causing.
Maya: Separately, arrests in the West Bank.
Daniel: The I D F and the Shin Bet arrested five people for alleged cooperation with Hamas and with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, another terrorist organization. According to security officials, the money moved through so-called charitable organizations.
Maya: Charity as cover. Not a new trick.
Daniel: No, and it's one Israel watches closely.
Maya: A quick round. Argentina is going to an international court, and an Israeli company is in the middle of it.
Daniel: Argentina asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order an emergency halt to U K led drilling near the Falkland Islands. Argentina says it violates international law, because of the sovereignty dispute.
Maya: And the Israeli angle?
Daniel: An Israeli company is involved in the drilling. The tribunal does have the power to issue an injunction, so it's one to watch.
Maya: Money at home. The income gap in Israel.
Daniel: Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics says that in twenty twenty-four, the top tenth of households earned almost seven times what the bottom tenth earned. Net monthly income was forty-nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-six shekels at the top, versus seven thousand, two hundred and seventy-six at the bottom.
Maya: And spending?
Daniel: Much closer. The top tenth spent less than double what the bottom spent. Housing was the biggest expense. And inequality actually dipped slightly, with the Gini coefficient falling to zero point three three three.
Maya: Lower is more equal, for those who skipped economics class.
Daniel: Correct. I didn't skip, for the record.
Maya: Noted. And finally, helicopters.
Daniel: The cabinet approved moving one billion shekels to rescue a deal with Boeing for twelve Apache attack helicopters. That deal had collapsed over a funding fight between the Finance and Defense ministries.
Maya: Where's the money coming from?
Daniel: It's being reallocated from Arab community development, drawn from future budgets through twenty twenty-nine, with more from other government funds. And it still needs final approval, even though the ordering deadline has already passed.
Maya: So, a race against a clock that's already stopped.
Daniel: More or less.
Maya: The thing to watch today is Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar's meetings in Israel, and what new deals on security, technology and trade come out of them.
Daniel: Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.
Maya: See you tomorrow morning.

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