Netanyahu says he will fire head of Israeli intelligence
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday told the Shin Bet director Ronen Bar that he will be dismissed due to an "ongoing lack of trust".
In a statement, Netanyahu's office announced that he will bring the vote to fire Bar to cabinet later this week, setting off alarms across Israeli society.
"At all times, but especially in such an existential war, the prime minister must have full confidence in the Shin Bet chief... But unfortunately, the situation is exactly the opposite – I do not have such confidence. I have an ongoing lack of trust in the Shin Bet chief. A distrust that has grown over time," the statement read.
The move, if enacted, would be the first time a Shin Bet chief would be sacked, with only two others resigning.
This would likely cause a stir considering the possibility of Israel renewing its war on Gaza.
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Bar hit back at Netanyahu, saying that his "expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation".
“The duty of loyalty placed on the Shin Bet is first and foremost to Israeli citizens. This underlies all my actions and decisions,” Bar said.
'The prime minister’s expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation'
- Ronen Bar, Shin Bet director
“The prime minister’s expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation,” he added.
The Shin Bet chief stressed that he will remain in office until the government proceeds with a formal dismissal.
Israel's attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, was reportedly not informed or consulted regarding this decision.
In response, Baharav-Miara told Netanyahu that the dismissal process would need to be delayed to a later date in order for a legal assessment to take place.
The delay, according to Baharav-Miara, was "due to the exceptional sensitivity of the matter; its precedent; the concern that the process is tainted by illegality and conflict of interest, and bearing in mind that the role of Shin Bet director is not a position of personal trust serving the prime minister."
'Campaign of blackmail'
Last Thursday, Netanyahu claimed that Bar was waging "a whole campaign of blackmail and threats against him," without specifying on the kinds of accusations.
"The sole objective is trying to prevent me from taking the decisions necessary to rebuild the Shin Bet after its burning failure on October 7," Netanyahu said.
Local reports cite that this relates to a Shin Bet probe into possible links between employees in Netanyahu's office and Qatar, a debacle that has been dubbed "Qatargate".
The decision to sack Bar also comes after an investigation by the intelligence agency into the Hamas-led 7 October attacks.
The Shin Bet investigation released earlier in March largely blamed the attacks on the government's policy of maintaining "quiet" in Gaza - given the lack of any rocket launches or other activity by fighting factions in Gaza for more than a year - as well as what it describes as the transfer of Qatari funds to Hamas's military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in order to build up its ranks.
The investigation also revealed that the division of responsibility between the Shin Bet and the Israeli military "was not suited to the situation on the ground", Haaretz reported.
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