Tel Aviv /PNN /

Deep divisions are emerging in the Israeli arena, both among the public and on the political level. These divisions have manifested in harsh criticisms aimed at the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including members of the emergency government formed following the outbreak of the ongoing war that has continued for three weeks.

These criticisms stem from Netanyahu's repeated denial of any imminent attack being planned by Hamas before October 7.

In a post on the "X" platform, Netanyahu stated, “Contrary to false claims, under no circumstances was the Prime Minister warned about war intentions by Hamas.”

He added that all intelligence agencies had considered Hamas restrained after previous wars and leaning towards reconciliation. He emphasized that this was the assessment repeatedly presented to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet by all security and intelligence agencies even before the outbreak of the war.

Notable political criticisms have come from an Israeli government minister and member of the smaller Security Cabinet, Benny Gantz. He attacked the Prime Minister over his tweets regarding Israeli security concerns. insisted that Netanyahu must retract his statements regarding the failure on October 7 and take responsibility.

On the other hand, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu, claiming that he had crossed a red line. While soldiers are fighting, he is trying to blame them instead of supporting them. He stated that the attempts to absolve responsibility and place blame on the security apparatus weaken the army during the conflict.

Lapid added that Netanyahu should apologize for his words.

On the media front, Haaretz newspaper reported that Netanyahu holds responsibility for the failure of predicting the attack by the Israeli military intelligence branch "Aman," headed by Aharon Haliva, and the Israeli General Security Service "Shabak," led by Ronen Bar.

On the military front, an Israeli army spokesperson responded to Netanyahu's statement, saying, “We are currently in a state of war, and we will announce the investigation's results into the October 7 attack after it is completed.”

Notably, more than 1,000 Israelis gathered in front of Netanyahu's private residence to demonstrate their solidarity with the Gaza prisoners' families and demand Netanyahu's immediate resignation. They lit hundreds of candles to commemorate those who have been killed in the conflict and chanted slogans like "Shame, Shame, Guilty - We demand 1,500 life sentences for Netanyahu (one for every Gaza casualty)." Repeated calls echoed: "Bibi the killer," "Bibi the traitor," “Bibi to prison.”

It is worth mentioning that Netanyahu held his first press conference since the war broke out, featuring ministers from the war government formed following the Palestinian operation on October 7.

During the conference, Netanyahu rejected taking any responsibility for the failure, evading a question posed by a journalist on the matter. He merely said, "After the war, we must all provide answers to the tough questions."