Lapid praises Ronen Bar for ‘taking responsibility’ and resigning as Shin Bet chief

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomes Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s announcement that he will resign on June 15, citing personal responsibility for his agency’s failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack.

“Ronen Bar made the right and appropriate decision. This is what taking responsibility looks like,” Lapid tweets.

“Of those responsible for the greatest failure in the country’s history, only one remains holding on to his chair,” Lapid adds, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The people of Israel deserve elections now.”

Lapid is echoed by The Democrats party chief Yair Golan, who tweets, “Thank you Ronen. Netanyahu, it’s now your turn.”

National Unity party chief Benny Gantz says that “Ronen and the Shin Bet failed on October 7. Ronen fulfilled his responsibility throughout the war in the face of all challenges and in all arenas. He did the same today in his decision to resign.”

Gantz adds that it is “appropriate and right that the political echelon also fulfills the same responsibility.”

Right-wing lawmakers take a different approach, continuing their attacks on the veteran security official.

“Ronen Bar is not doing anyone a favor by leaving. As of April 10, Ronen Bar is the illegal head of the Shin Bet, and in a civilized country, he would already have been handcuffed and detained with rats, both for rebelling against the elected government that legally fired him, and also to be asked difficult questions about other serious matters,” tweets Likud MK Ariel Kallner — declaring that “the struggle against the crazy Israeli Deep State has not even begun.”

Fellow Likud MK Avichai Boaron calls Bar “rude, arrogant [and] smug,” asserting that such an approach led to October 7, while far-right Noam party MK Avi Maoz declares, “You didn’t resign. You were fired.”