A former close aide to Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed controversial details related to the latter's behavior immediately following the October 7, 2023 attack.
Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu's former spokesman, made these accusations in an interview with the Hebrew news channel "Kan," indicating that Netanyahu tasked him with a main mission to devise a plan to evade responsibility for the major security breach that preceded the war in Gaza.
These statements come at a time when Feldstein himself is on trial for leaking confidential information to the international press.
Feldstein explained that his "first task" after the attack was aimed at curbing the calls for accountability that began to escalate in the media and public circles.
According to his account, Netanyahu hesitantly asked him about what the news was covering, wondering, "Are they still talking about responsibility?"
He added that the Prime Minister asked him to craft a response or formulation to deter the media storm related to him taking responsibility or not, describing Netanyahu's condition at that moment as "confused."
The former spokesman also disclosed that individuals in Netanyahu's close circle later issued instructions to delete the word "responsibility" from all official statements and reports issued from his office.
This testimony coincides with a series of legal crises facing Feldstein, where he is accused of leaking military documents to a German newspaper in an attempt to improve Netanyahu's image following the deaths of six detainees in Gaza in August.
In addition, Feldstein is a principal suspect in the "Qatar Gate" case, where he and another close associate of Netanyahu are accused of receiving money from Qatar while working in the Prime Minister’s office.
These accusations bolster the criticisms directed at Netanyahu, who has repeatedly been accused of refusing to submit to an independent government investigation into the failures of October seventh.
For his part, Netanyahu's office quickly denied these claims in detail, describing them as "a long series of false allegations."
The office considered that Feldstein is acting based on "clear personal interests" to distance himself from the legal responsibility he faces in the cases attributed to him.
Despite this denial, these statements remain a significant source of political concern within the occupation, as they highlight the behind-the-scenes decision-making in the Prime Minister’s office during the most serious security crisis faced by the state.
