Former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a liar” and accused him of stitching together a false narrative surrounding the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in order to evade responsibility.

He also accused Netanyahu of stirring up his government ministers against Israel’s security chiefs even as they led their troops on the front lines against Hamas.

“I did not think I would have to come here to the studio and say, ‘We have a liar for prime minister. The prime minister is a liar,” Gallant said in a caustic Channel 12 interview, in which he repeatedly castigated his former boss.

“After the huge failure on October 7, when the IDF and Shin Bet, led by the chief of staff and the Shin Bet chief, were courageously fighting back, when they were at the front, Netanyahu stabbed them in the back and stirred up all the government ministers against them and presented it all to the public,” Gallant charged.

The former Likud MK, who was fired as defense minister in late 2024, accused Netanyahu of claiming that a delay in the IDF entering the southern Gaza city of Rafah in early 2024 was due to the supposed fear of the IDF leadership, when in reality it was because the IDF had been replenishing its supplies after allocating ammunition for potential conflict in the north.

“Netanyahu’s first priority is himself, then his government, and then the country,” Gallant said, adding that the premier “takes credit for actions after they are completed, if they succeed. If they don’t succeed, it’s someone else’s responsibility.”

Gallant’s criticism of Netanyahu came two days after the premier attempted to distance himself from the failures of October 7 by releasing a 55-page document of his answers given to the State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman as part of the ombudsman’s investigation into the attack.

Among the selective citations provided by Netanyahu were quotes that appeared........

© The Times of Israel