Netanyahu responsible for Oct. 7, 2023, must leave office: Opposition leader

Just weeks before Israel’s Oct. 27 elections, an Israeli opposition party leader said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears responsibility for the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and should leave office, calling for all those who were part of the governing coalition at the time to be excluded from the next government.

In a video posted Thursday on US social media platform X, Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, held Netanyahu’s government directly responsible for the failures surrounding the events of that day.

“I call on everyone to say things clearly: Netanyahu bears responsibility for Oct. 7, and he must go home,” Lieberman said.

He added that those who were partners in the government at the time of the events and who did not take responsibility or support the establishment of a state commission of inquiry “simply should not be partners in the next government.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, fighters with Palestinians resistance group Hamas attacked Israeli military bases and settlements near the Gaza Strip, killing and taking Israelis captive. Hamas said the attack came in response to the “daily crimes by the occupation” against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli opposition parties have held Netanyahu and his government responsible for failures preceding the events, while the prime minister has rejected responsibility for them.

Lieberman added: “There is no meaning in saying that no one is responsible here, because Netanyahu’s government is responsible for the events of Oct. 7.”

Recent Israeli press reports said that Netanyahu got an “explicit warning” from the United Arab Emirates about a major Hamas attack ahead of Oct. 7 but then failed to brief Israel’s security chiefs.

Netanyahu had long opposed the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the events surrounding Oct. 7. Last November, his government decided to advance the formation of a commission appointed by the government, a move criticized by the opposition.

The opposition says the proposed commission lacks sufficient independence and powers and accuses Netanyahu of seeking to evade responsibility for his failures.

Netanyahu accused of corruption, war crimes

Netanyahu has led the Israeli government since late December 2022 and is on trial over corruption charges he denies. Hearings have been repeatedly delayed over Israel’s military offensives, with some opposition figures charging that Netanyahu is prolonging conflicts to avoid court verdicts against him.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The court said there were reasonable grounds to believe he bore criminal responsibility for crimes including starvation as a method of warfare, intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Israel’s next general election is scheduled for Oct. 27, with neither side showing a definitive lead.