Netanyahu says he’ll fire Shin Bet chief Bar; AG says he can’t without legal review
PM cites ‘ongoing distrust’ in security agency chief, who says expectation of personal loyalty is ‘fundamentally illegitimate’; timing coincides with Shin Bet probe into PM’s aides
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday his intention to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, bringing to a head months of growing disagreements between the two men.
The premier summoned Bar for an urgent meeting in his office on Sunday evening, Netanyahu’s office said, and informed him that the cabinet would vote for his dismissal later in the week.
“At all times, but especially during an existential war such as the one we face, there must be full trust between the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet,” Netanyahu said in a video statement following his meeting with Bar.
“But unfortunately, the situation is the opposite — I do not have such trust. I have ongoing distrust in the head of the Shin Bet, a distrust that has grown over time.”
“I want to make clear,” stressed the prime minister, “I am full of appreciation for the men and women of the Shin Bet.”
He added that he was “sure that this step is critical for the rehabilitation of the agency, for achieving all our war aims, and for preventing the next disaster.”
While Hebrew media reported that a vote on Bar’s dismissal would take place in a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told Netanyahu later on Sunday night that he could not “initiate a dismissal process” of Bar “until the factual and legal basis underlying your decision is fully examined, as well as your authority to address the matter at this time.”
She explained that the reason for this was “the extraordinary sensitivity of the issue, its unprecedented nature, the concern that the process may be tainted by illegality and conflict of interest, and considering that the role of the head of the Shin Bet is not a personal trust position serving the prime minister.”
It was not the first time that the attorney general has warned as much.
Earlier this month, one of her deputies published a missive stressing that, in the event that the prime minister seeks to dismiss the head of a security body, the move must be reviewed by the attorney general, “in order to ensure its compliance with the necessary procedural and substantive safeguards.”
Responding to the attorney general, Justice Minister Yariv Levin argued that “The Shin Bet Law explicitly states that the government has the authority to terminate the service of the head of the agency before the end of their term. This law should be known to the attorney general.”
Levin added: “In case anyone is confused, Israel is a democracy, and everyone in it, including the attorney general, is subject to the law.” He said the government “must not surrender to threats or attempts to strip [it] of its authority.”
Bar was appointed chief of the Shin Bet in 2021 by then-prime minister Naftali Bennett for a five-year term, but the government has the authority to end his tenure and appoint a new director. In the history of the State of Israel, no Shin Bet director has ever been fired, though two directors resigned before completing their terms.
Netanyahu was widely reported to have been working for months to try and oust Bar, as he seeks to pin the blame for the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, onslaught on the security services, while exonerating his own government.
Although Bar intended to eventually resign over his agency’s failure to anticipate the attack, he was said to be pushing back against the effort to oust him, fearing that acquiescence would allow Netanyahu to appoint a loyalist in his stead. He was reportedly planning to remain in his post until all the hostages were returned from Gaza and a state commission of inquiry established to probe the failures surrounding October 7.
Demand for ‘personal loyalty’
In a lengthy statement following Netanyahu’s announcement, Bar charged that the decision to fire him was unrelated to the agency’s failures surrounding the October 7 attack, but rather due to a personal issue.
“The duty of loyalty placed on the Shin Bet is first and foremost to Israeli citizens. This underlies all my actions and decisions,” Bar said. “The prime minister’s expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation. It is contrary to the Shin Bet law and contrary to the patriotic values that guide the Shin Bet and its members,” he added.
Bar noted that the Shin Bet’s internal review of the failures that led to October 7 “pointed to a policy led by the government, and the person who has headed it, for years, with emphasis on the year preceding the massacre. The investigation showed a longstanding and deliberate disregard by the political echelon for the agency’s warnings.”
He said he intended to continue in his role until the hostages are returned, until he completes several “sensitive” investigations — likely those related to the Prime Minister’s Office — and until his two potential successors are ready.
After some media outlets took that part of the statement to mean Bar was refusing to step down, the Shin Bet clarified that Bar will accept his dismissal if the decision is passed.
“As someone who headed the Shin Bet on October 7, I took responsibility for the agency’s part and clearly stated that I intend to act on it before the end of my tenure. That is what is expected of everyone.” Bar said in his statement. “Therefore, it is clear that the intention behind my firing is not related to October 7. The prime minister made it clear that the decision was due to his claim there is ongoing distrust between us.
“The Shin Bet, under my leadership, carried out a thorough investigation that pointed to intelligence and internal process failures on October 7, the repair of which has already begun,” he said.
“The need to investigate all parties, including government policy and the prime minister, and not just the IDF and the Shin Bet, who have been thoroughly investigated, is required for public security. If I do not insist upon this, with all the personal prices I will pay, I will fail in my role of providing state security,” he stressed.
“Investigating to uncover the truth is of utmost importance in the Shin Bet. The public has a right to know what led to the massacre and the collapse of Israel’s security.”
Bar said that his “public responsibility” was a key factor in his decision not to resign for the time being, “in light of the [military] escalation potential, the high security tensions and a real possibility of returning to fighting in the Gaza Strip, in which the Shin Bet has a key role.”
He said that he had also wanted to “follow through on my personal commitment and the commitment of the agency to the hostages; the completion of a number of sensitive investigations; and the optimal readiness of the two candidates to replace me, at the prime minister’s choice.
“In a previous meeting, I informed the prime minister that I intended to complete the above before I resigned from my position in coordination with him, in light of my responsibility to the public, the security of the country, and the functioning of the Shin Bet for the benefit of the State of Israel,” he finished.
In response, an anonymous diplomatic official — generally code for statements from the Prime Minister’s Office — launched a broadside against Bar, saying that he was “confused about who reports to whom.”
“The Shin Bet chief’s clinging to the altar harms the Shin Bet and the security of the country,” said the official, accusing Bar of defying Netanyahu in his statement, despite the clarification from the Shin Bet that Bar would step down should his ouster be approved.
“If anyone had any doubts about the vital need to remove the Shin Bet chief from his position, they have now received the final answer to that with the anti-democratic response in which he says that he, and not the government, will determine when he will end his position,” the official said.
Bar “also decided on the night of October 7 who not to wake up and who not to call,” the official claimed.
“The Shin Bet chief repeats the lie that he warned the political echelon against the Hamas attack, while the protocols prove the exact opposite,” claimed the official. “On October 1, 2023, seven days before the massacre, the Shin Bet chief said that Hamas was deterred and that it should be given economic benefits in order to maintain calm.”
PM’s critics gear up for legal challenge
The feud between the two men appeared to come to a head late last week, when Netanyahu accused Bar of “blackmail,” after his direct predecessor in the security agency, Nadav Argaman, claimed to be sitting on a trove of information that would compromise the prime minister, and threatened to make it public if he breaks the law.
Argaman was summoned for questioning by the Israel Police on Sunday for his comments to Channel 12, after Netanyahu filed a complaint against him for “threatening and blackmailing a sitting prime minister.”
Netanyahu lodged a similar “blackmail” accusation against Bar. He offered limited detail to explain the claim, but claimed the current Shin Bet chief had held a series of off-record briefings with certain reporters in recent days in order to tarnish the premier.
Bar’s agency, in turn, declared that the Shin Bet chief “devotes all of his time to security matters, efforts to recover the hostages and the defense of democracy. Any statement to the contrary is devoid of any truth.”
The timing of Netanyahu’s announcement drew immediate scrutiny from critics and opposition lawmakers, who pointed out that the Shin Bet is currently investigating several members of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office for alleged ties with Qatar, thus creating a potential conflict of interest.
In a furious statement, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid asserted that Netanyahu was firing Bar “for only one reason — the ‘Qatar-gate’ investigation.”
“For a year and a half, he saw no reason to fire him, but only when the investigation into Qatar’s infiltration of Netanyahu’s office and the funds transferred to his closest aides began did he suddenly feel an urgency to fire him immediately,” Lapid said.
“Netanyahu has once again put his private interests above the good of the country and its security,” Lapid charged. He said his Yesh Atid party would petition the courts against Bar’s ouster, based on the claim that its goal was “to sabotage a serious criminal investigation of the Prime Minister’s Office.”
Where opponents criticized the move, however, Netanyahu’s allies lauded it, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcoming the “necessary step.”
Otzma Yehudit chair Itamar Ben Gvir — who, when serving as national security minister, was accused by Bar of doing “indescribable damage” to Israel — said that the step should have been taken long ago, but that it was “better late than never.”
“The right must learn from President Trump to eradicate the ‘Deep State,'” the ultranationalist lawmaker added.
Next in line
Bar entered the ranks of the Shin Bet as a field agent in 1993, after completing his IDF service in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit.
He was tapped to lead the agency’s Operations Division in 2011, became head of the service’s resource development department in 2016, and from 2018 until 2021 served under Argaman as deputy chief.
No decision has been made as to Bar’s replacement, although two top Shin Bet officers are reportedly being considered to succeed him.
The first officer is known by the first initial of his name in Hebrew, “Shin,” and is the current deputy head of the Shin Bet. He has been in the deputy role for just two months, though he has served in other senior positions in the agency, including chief of staff and chief of the research division.
The second officer being considered is “Mem,” the former deputy chief of the agency. Netanyahu recently appointed him as a member of Israel’s hostage negotiation team, after kicking off Bar. He has also served in several other senior roles in the agency.
Both “Shin” and “Mem” served in the Shin Bet as field coordinators, involved in recruiting agents and other sources.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, Netanyahu may not choose either of the two officers, but instead bring a defense official from outside the organization to head the Shin Bet, or alternatively a former senior Shin Bet officer.
Among the former senior Shin Bet officials reportedly being considered to lead the Shin Bet is Meir Ben Shabbat, who is considered close to Netanyahu. Ben Shabbat formerly headed the Shin Bet’s southern district, and later Israel’s National Security Council.
