Hamas says fragile Netanyahu coalition exposed by backlash to deleted tweet 

A member of the Hamas political bureau has said that a backlash from opposition leaders forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delete a social media post in which he blamed the intelligence services for the 7 October attack, exposing the fragility of his “fascist government”, Quds Press has reported.

Izzat Al-Rishq added that the friction between Netanyahu and opposition leaders “deepens the internal conflict” in the occupation state. “It exposes once again the division and confusion within government, as well as the fear about the coming days that will determine its fate and political future.” The “steadfastness” and “resistance” of the Palestinians, he said, will lead to the government’s demise and end of its “presence” in occupied Palestine.

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Netanyahu claimed in a post on X that he “did not receive any warnings about Hamas’ intention to launch an attack against Israel” and blamed military intelligence for failing to anticipate the sudden and unprecedented attack by the Palestinian resistance against army bases and settlements near the Gaza Strip. “All intelligence agencies estimated that the Hamas movement was deterred by previous wars and was heading towards a settlement,” claimed the Likud leader.

A member of the Israeli war cabinet, opposition leader Benny Gantz, slammed Netanyahu and demanded that he should “retract his statements about the failure on 7 October and assume responsibility” for what happened.

“Netanyahu’s attempt to evade responsibility by blaming the security system weakens the army during the fighting,” suggested former Prime Minister Yair Lapid. “He must apologise for his words.”

After Netanyahu deleted his post, he admitted that he had made a mistake. “What I said after the press conference should not have been said and I apologise for that, and I give full support to all the leaders of the security arms.”

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