Former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday charged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fueling an “atmosphere of defeatism” in the country in the days after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught.
“I, by the way, was not in makeup,” Gallant told Channel 12 news, in a dig at Netanyahu. “I saw a prime minister who was either producing or feeling and bringing an atmosphere of defeatism. It really worried me.”
He told the network to look at pictures from meetings at the time to determine “who looked how.”
Gallant also told Channel 12 that he was unaware of the alleged warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to Netanyahu ahead of the October 7 Hamas-led attack. Haaretz first reported this week that bin Zayed personally warned the prime minister days before the attack was launched that Hamas was planning major offensive action against Israel, but that Netanyahu was dismissive and did not update security officials about the call.
Netanyahu has vehemently denied such a call took place and has threatened to sue Haaretz for libel. He’s said his records show he did not speak to the Emirati leader at the time. The paper has stood by its reporting.
