Opposition leaders say Netanyahu’s conduct, as described by Bar, endangers Israel

The leaders of the Knesset’s Jewish opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of placing Israel in existential danger, after Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar alleges that the premier demanded his personal loyalty.

In a court filing, Bar said that it has been made clear to him that he needed to obey Netanyahu and not the Supreme Court in the event of a constitutional crisis.

In a formal statement to the court regarding petitions against the government’s decision to fire Bar, the Shin Bet head insisted he had been fired because of his refusal to meet those expectations of loyalty owing to decisions he made regarding investigations into the prime minister’s aides; his refusal to help Netanyahu avoid testifying in his criminal trial; and the political fallout from the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

In a joint statement, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman, and The Democrats head Yair Golan stated that Netanyahu’s conduct, as described by Bar, “puts our future and existence in danger and harms the security of the state.”

The statement added that the four had agreed on an unspecified “series of joint actions on the issue” and would demand an emergency Knesset plenum session focused on Bar’s allegations.

The Yesh Atid, National Unity and Yisrael Beytenu parties have largely refused to cooperate with the majority-Arab Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al parties, which are also part of the opposition bloc.