Deputy Shin Bet chief to temporarily replace Ronen Bar when term ends Sunday

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s term will end on Sunday at midnight, says a source in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Recently retired IDF Maj. Gen. David Zini is expected to ultimately replace Bar, although the formal appointment process is expected to take several more weeks.

Until then, deputy Shin Bet chief S. will fill the position

S. will hold the position for a month or until Zini’s appointment is completed, whichever comes first, says the official.

Bar was fired by the government in March under highly controversial circumstances.

The High Court froze his dismissal while it adjudicated petitions arguing that his firing was tainted by severe procedural failures and motivated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal and political expediencies, including investigations conducted by the Shin Bet into allegedly illicit ties between the prime minister’s aides and Qatar.

Bar subsequently announced he would step down on June 15.

The High Court then ruled that his dismissal had been unlawful and that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in firing Bar due to the so-called Qatargate investigation, but did not issue operative orders due to Bar’s decision to resign.

Netanyahu, nevertheless, nominated Zini to replace Bar, but the attorney general said this was a conflict of interest for the prime minister and that Zini’s appointment was unlawful.