Zohar also said that despite the rifts, after the Hamas attack took place Israelis from across the political spectrum arose and managed to \u201cbeat their enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t A Hamas memo from 2022, during the 18 months when the Bennett-Lapid government was in power, reportedly<\/a> detailed plans for the massacre.<\/p>\n However, from as early as 2018, Netanyahu was reportedly warned<\/a> several times about Hamas\u2019s plans to invade Israel.<\/p>\n Last week, Bennett and Lapid, who built a diverse, multi-party coalition after the 2021 election, formed a joint slate called Together in a bid to unseat Netanyahu at the next election, scheduled to be held by the end of October.<\/p>\n In response to Zohar\u2019s comments, Bennett, who served as prime minister from 2021-22, accused the government of launching \u201canother campaign to evade responsibility for the blood of those murdered on October 7.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is yours, Netanyahu. And it is not AI,\u201d Bennett said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cYou transferred suitcases of dollars to Hamas. You allowed the terror monster to grow on our border. You contained the rocket fire and the balloons. You surrendered to Hamas and Hezbollah. You employed consultants in your office during the war who received salaries from Qatar<\/a> (!) and you continue to employ them even after the betrayal became known,\u201d Bennett wrote on X.<\/p>\n \t The suspects in the Qatargate scandal, close Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich and former spokesman Eli Feldstein, are alleged to have worked for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, to have had contact with a foreign agent, and to have committed a series of corruption offenses involving lobbyists and businessmen, while in the premier\u2019s employ.<\/p>\n \u201cA government under my leadership will establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failure [that enabled] the massacre,\u201d Bennett wrote.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s government has steadfastly refused to establish a state commission of inquiry, the only available independent public forum with investigative powers, into the October 7 disaster.<\/p>\n \t It first argued that an investigation could not begin while the country was still at war, but then later claimed that a state commission would be biased against it due to what it alleges is the liberal bent of Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, who would appoint the members of the committee.<\/p>\n In response to Zohar\u2019s comments, Lapid, who served as caretaker prime minister in the months leading up to the 2022 election as part of a rotation deal with Bennett, said, \u201cMiki, you were a minister on October 7, Netanyahu was prime minister on October 7, Likud, Smotrich, and Otzma Yehudit held all the security roles on October 7.<\/p>\n \t \u201cTwelve hundred were murdered on your watch. Hundreds kidnapped on your watch. Three years later, we wake up every morning to \u2018cleared for publication\u2019 on your watch,\u201d Lapid said, referring to the October 7 death toll, and the phrase used for announcements on soldiers\u2019 deaths.<\/p>\n \u201cThirty thousand Hamas armed operatives still control Gaza on your watch. You ignored each one of our warnings, every alert, and empowered Hamas as a policy and brought upon us the worst disaster for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,\u201d Lapid added.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least do one thing, be ashamed,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n \t Under Netanyahu, Qatar provided tens of millions of dollars in cash to Gaza every month from 2018 until October 7. The payments were publicly encouraged by Netanyahu as a means to prevent a humanitarian disaster in the Strip.<\/p>\n He has since denied<\/a> that the money sent by Qatar to Gaza at Israel\u2019s request was used to fund the October 7 attack, despite having reportedly been warned at least twice<\/a> before the Hamas onslaught that the terror group\u2019s military chief, Muhammad Deif, was appropriating funds.<\/p>\n Netanyahu has never acknowledged direct responsibility for the failures surrounding October 7 and has instead attempted to place the blame on others, including the security establishment.<\/p>\n Numerous reports and some top security officials have said publicly that Netanyahu and his government repeatedly rejected plans to kill senior Hamas leaders.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tOpposition Leader Yair Lapid (right) and former prime minister Naftali Bennett at a press conference announcing their joint run in the coming elections, in Herzliya, central Israel, April 26, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP24144245267372-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA car destroyed by Palestinian terrorists is seen at Shaar Hanegev Junction near Sderot, on October 7, 2023. (Ohad Zwigenberg\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP22120591449726-e1728455143162-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tYahya Sinwar, head of the Hamas terror group, delivers a speech in Gaza City, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo\/Adel Hana)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP23281292424704-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIsraeli soldiers walk near Sderot\u2019s police station that was overrun by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 onslaught, on October 8, 2023. (AP Photo\/Ohad Zwigenberg)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP23284500384394-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tAn Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be\u2019eri, October 11, 2023. (AP\/Baz Ratner)<\/p>\n
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