Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on Monday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of falsifying security protocols in an effort to deflect blame from himself over his government’s failures on October 7, calling for police to consider a criminal probe of the premier.

“The Netanyahu document is a forgery of security protocols in an official document issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, in a way that must be intentional,” Lapid declared, referring to a 55-page document released by Netanyahu last week containing his answers given to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman as part of the ombudsman’s since-frozen investigation into the attack.

In the document, which contains selective, curated quotes from cabinet protocols, Netanyahu sought to pin the failure to prevent the onslaught on political rivals and security chiefs, while presenting himself in a positive light and deflecting responsibility for the attack. The release of the document sparked outrage from many opposition officials as well as former Netanyahu allies who accused the prime minister of lying and misrepresenting his past positions.

Lapid, speaking to reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s faction meeting in the Knesset, said that by releasing the document, Netanyahu “made a mistake. He opened Pandora’s box, and they are trying to close it again. It will not work for them.

“The problem is not that Netanyahu is lying. The fact that Netanyahu is lying is not exactly news. This is much more serious. The biased editing of protocols of security discussions is a violation of the Official Secrets Law,” Lapid said.

Those involved in publishing the 55-page document in question “are involved in a cover-up, fraud, and a conspiracy designed to deceive the state comptroller, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and the Israeli public,” Lapid alleged. “This is a conspiracy aimed at damaging our ability to learn the lessons of October 7 and to defend ourselves in the future.”

Lapid told........

© The Times of Israel