JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Deputy Minister Almog Cohen (Jewish Force) claimed on Wednesday from the Knesset podium that already on the night preceding October 7, the Shin Bet received intelligence indicating an unusual gathering of Nukhba terrorists in the Gaza Strip, information which, according to him, was not passed on to the relevant authorities in time.
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In his remarks, Cohen pointed an accusing finger at Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, claiming that at 3:30 a.m., on Simchat Torah, Bar convened the heads of the organization’s divisions at a Shin Bet facility. According to Cohen, at that very same time an intelligence agent was operating in the Gaza Strip, referred to, he said, by the codename “Green Sardine”, who warned his handlers about a gathering of Nukhba terrorists in mosques ahead of the morning prayer.
According to Cohen, the gathering took place at an unusual hour, much earlier than the customary time for prayer, which was supposed to begin only around 5:15 a.m. (Thus arousing suspicion that the early prayer was a preparation for an operation).
“Why was this information not brought to the attention of the citizens of the state?” Cohen, who himself fought in Ofakim on Oct. 7, asked. “Why did we have to die there in the streets?”
Cohen argued that had the intelligence been transmitted to the “appropriate places” in real time, it might have been possible to prevent the massacre or at least reduce its scale.
In response, Knesset Member Merav Ben Ari, chair of the Yesh Atid faction and opposition whip, appealed to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to open a criminal investigation against Cohen, following his statements in the Knesset.
In her letter, Ben Ari wrote that the remarks raised a “serious suspicion of the disclosure of classified security information, including identifying details relating to a Shin Bet agent and the manner of his operation.” According to her, this was information that “had been prohibited from publication for many months for security reasons, due to the grave risk involved in exposing the agent’s identity and the nature of his activities.”