PM’s office schedules cabinet vote to fire Shin Bet chief for tomorrow night

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Left: Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90); Right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Dudu Bachar/POOL)
Left: Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90); Right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Dudu Bachar/POOL)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has informed cabinet members that they will hold a vote tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. in order to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

The motion states that Bar will end his tenure on April 20, and cites Netanyahu’s “persistent personal and professional distrust” of him that harms both the government and the security service.

Netanyahu announced on Sunday, after meeting with Bar, that he planned to move forward with his dismissal, citing “ongoing distrust” in the security agency chief.

The move has sparked mass protests across the country, with critics fearing that Netanyahu is seeking to replace Bar with a loyalist who will quash the Shin Bet’s ongoing probe into the premier’s office’s allegedly illicit ties to Qatar.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said Netanyahu cannot fire Bar unless he consults her and establishes a “factual and legal basis” for doing so. Netanyahu has responded by accusing Baharav-Miara of “abusing her authority.”

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