Netanyahu shares post by GOP senator backing decision to fire Shin Bet chief

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares a post by Republican Senator Tom Cotton who backs his decision to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, translating the text into Hebrew.

In the post on X, Cotton writes, “It’s not a ‘threat to democracy’ for an elected head of state to have the power to remove the chief of an intelligence service — it’s essential to democracy. And if Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost confidence in this intelligence chief, how can the US government have confidence in him?”

The High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction on Tuesday stating that Bar must remain in office until further notice and giving the government and the attorney general until April 20 to reach a compromise over the legal dispute surrounding the unprecedented vote last month to fire him.

When asked for comment on the government’s decision to fire Bar, a US State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel last month, “This is an internal matter for the government of Israel, so we refer you to them for more information.”

הסנאטור טום קוטון יו״ר ועדת המודיעין של הסנאט האמריקני:

״זה לא ׳איום על הדמוקרטיה׳ כשלראש ממשלה נבחר יש סמכות להדיח את ראש השב״כ-זה תנאי הכרחי בדמוקרטיה. ואם ראש הממשלה נתניהו איבד אמון בראש השב״כ הזה, כיצד יכול הממשל האמריקני לתת בו אמון?״@SenTomCotton pic.twitter.com/ycBh5aRR3l

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 11, 2025

Jacob Magid and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.