Gallant slams coalition attacks on Shin Bet chief, saying they harm security

A number of coalition lawmakers attack the head of the Shin Bet for reportedly warning that terrorist acts by Jewish Israelis are fueling Palestinian terrorism, saying “ideas of the left have reached the top” of the security agency and that senior defense officials do not know how to “distinguish between the enemy and your people,” prompting Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to come to the defense of Ronen Bar.

“Thanks to the members of the Shin Bet and their leader, who operate far from the public eye, the lives of Israeli citizens are saved every day,” Gallant says in a statement.

“I strongly condemn the statements of Knesset members insulting the head of the Shin Bet, and suggest that they retract them and apologize for their words,” he continues.

“Any attack by public figures against the Shin Bet harms the security of the state and its citizens,” Gallant adds.

This morning, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that Bar had personally warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank was fueling Palestinian terrorism.

The warning reportedly came days before a young Palestinian man was allegedly killed by Israeli settlers near Ramallah on Friday night, and a Palestinian terrorist from Jenin killed an Israeli patrolman in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.