Government holds vote on reversing the firing of Shin Bet chief after he announced resignation

The government is voting to reverse its decision to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar via a telephone call with cabinet members, in the wake of Bar’s announcement yesterday that he will resign his position on June 15.

Cancelling the decision means that the High Court of Justice will almost certainly not rule on petitions that called on the court to reverse Bar’s dismissal due to what the petitioners alleged were political motives behind the decision, along with severe procedural flaws with his removal from office.

The government resolution cancelling Bar’s dismissal says that Bar resigned “too late” and that the date of his resignation was also “too late,” but that the government would use the time before his departure to find a new Shin Bet chief.

The resolution also states that due to the “ongoing crisis between the branches of government during a war of rebirth,” along with the country’s “severe security situation” the government wanted to “focus the national effort on security issues, the need for internal unity,” especially on the eve of Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day.