High Court extends freeze on Shin Bet chief’s sacking, but allows Netanyahu to interview replacements

The High Court of Justice extends a court-ordered freeze on the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar while allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to interview potential replacements.

The ruling rejects Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s request to prevent the government from interviewing candidates.

Earlier today, the government emphasized in a submission to the court that beginning the process is urgently critical to national security.

The government fired Bar on Thursday night at the recommendation of Netanyahu, who said he had lost faith in the Shin Bet chief’s ability to do his job.

Four opposition parties, along with a number of NGOs, petitioned the High Court against the move, arguing that Netanyahu and the government had a severe conflict of interest in firing Bar due to the Shin Bet’s ongoing investigation into allegedly unlawful ties between Netanyahu’s aides and Qatar.

The High Court issued a temporary injunction against Bar’s dismissal and ordered the prime minister and the government to respond to the request for an interim injunction by Monday.

Following the court’s decision to freeze Bar’s dismissal, Baharav-Miara — against whom the government has also initiated a removal process — told the government it was legally prohibited from appointing a new head of the Shin Bet, or even conducting interviews for the job, including an interim head.