Shin Bet chief says PM urged him to tell trial judges it wasn’t safe for him to testify
In letter to court ahead of hearing on his firing, Bar says he fears for Shin Bet’s future, hints he was asked to act against protesting Israelis; AG: PM showing conflict of interest with dismissal amid Qatar probe
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly demanded that he inform the judges in the premier’s corruption trial that Netanyahu should not be allowed to regularly testify in court due to security reasons.
In a letter to the High Court of Justice ahead of its hearing next week on petitions against the government’s decision to fire him, Bar said his refusal to heed Netanyahu’s request was the reason for the breakdown in trust between the two.
The prime minister had cited his lack of trust in Bar as the reason for his dismissal by the cabinet. The firing was subsequently frozen by the High Court of Justice, which is hearing petitions on the matter.
In the letter, Bar said he adhered to his job’s requirement that he maintain “professional independence,” rather than act out of “personal loyalty” to the premier.
“The head of the Shin Bet is not the trusted servant of the prime minister or any other diplomatic or political figure,” Bar wrote.
Netanyahu’s demands to Bar regarding the trial were apparently made last year amid fighting against the Hezbollah terror group, which began attacking Israel in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack by its ally Hamas. A Hezbollah drone exploded and smashed a window at Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea last October.
The prime minister sought to have his corruption trial postponed indefinitely due to concerns about potential Hezbollah drone strikes on the Jerusalem District Court, where he was slated to testify several times a week for hours on end, but the judges instead decided to move proceedings to the Tel Aviv District Court, which has a fortified basement.
Bar: Worried for the future of the Shin Bet
In the Friday letter to the High Court, the Shin Bet chief also implied that he was asked to use the internal security service’s tools against Israeli citizens, but refused.
Hebrew-language media reports said the comment could be seen as a hint that he had been asked to utilize the agency’s abilities against protesters.
“I was also required to uphold my professional independence in events related to the service’s handling of issues concerning Israeli citizens and in everything related to the exercise of the service’s powers to act against the citizens of the country,” Bar wrote.
Bar said that if the court required more information on the matter he would be willing to provide it behind closed doors. Israel has seen widespread protests in recent years over the government’s contentious judicial overhaul, as well as calls for a hostage deal, among other causes.
Bar additionally said that he was “worried for the future of the Shin Bet.” He stressed to the justices that their decision as regards his firing was “fateful” for the security service and the capacity of those who succeed him at its helm “to do their jobs with professionalism, statesmanship, while carefully ensuring that the authority and tools of the service are used solely for their intended purposes.”
Bar urged the court to reverse the government’s decision to fire him, saying his dismissal amid the so-called Qatargate probe would send a “clear message.”
“The significance of advancing hastily carried out termination proceedings during a sensitive period, while criminal investigations are being conducted into the prime minister’s associates, without due process and detailed allegations against me and without giving me a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations, would convey a clear message to the entire chain of command in the Shin Bet, including to the next heads of the agency, that if one falls out of favor with the political echelon, they will immediately be fired,” Bar wrote, referring to the ongoing Shin Bet and police probe into alleged illicit ties between members of Netanyahu’s inner circle, and Qatar.
With regards to the investigation, Bar charged that there was a “campaign of smear and delegitimization underway designed to deter the investigating authorities.”
PM’s office: Bar’s statement ‘full of lies’
Firing back, Netanyahu’s office said Bar’s statement was “tainted with severe conflict of interest.”
“This statement is full of lies,” said the Prime Minister’s Office, “such as the claim that the prime minister asked the Shin Bet to use the organization’s powers inappropriately against Israeli citizens — something that never happened.”
“The prime minister spoke with the Shin Bet about ways to allow his testimony in court in light of the missile threats against Israel and against the prime minister in particular,” the statement said.
Netanyahu and Bar did discuss the testimony, the PMO said, but only talked about where it should be held: “Indeed, the Shin Bet professionals determined that the hearings should be held in the protected area of the Tel Aviv District Court and not elsewhere. And so the hearings are indeed taking place.”
The PMO also said that Netanyahu’s and the cabinet’s lack of trust in Bar “did not stem from a question of personal loyalty, but rather from a lack of trust in his performance after his decisive role in the failure of October 7, in which he chose not to update the political echelon along with a series of other events that subsequently undermined professional trust in him,” apparently referring to the conspiracy theory that Bar knew in advance that the devastating Hamas-led onslaught would take place.
Referring to Bar’s claim that he was being fired because he adhered to his job’s requirement not to act out of personal loyalty to the premier, Netanyahu’s office claimed that “the only one motivated by personal motives is the Shin Bet head, who clings to the altar and insists on remaining in his position after losing the trust of the entire government.”
AG: PM showing conflict of interest with firing
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also formally submitted her stance against the government’s decision to fire Bar, telling the High Court of Justice that the dismissal was “tainted with a personal conflict of interest with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to the criminal investigations of his associates.”
In a letter sent to the court ahead of its hearing next week on petitions against the firing, Baharav-Miara said, “This decision has implications that go far beyond the interests of the current Shin Bet chief” and that leaving the decision intact “will undermine the ability of future Shin Bet chiefs to act independently,” as opposed to out of loyalty to the government.
Netanyahu’s government has also begun moves to dismiss Baharav-Miara.
Netanyahu has claimed he lost faith in the Bar following the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu has sought to shift the responsibility for the colossal failure onto the shoulders of the security establishment, while also refusing to allow the formation of a commission of inquiry to examine the events surrounding that day.
Critics of the prime minister have accused him of seeking to fire Bar due to an ongoing Shin Bet probe of alleged ties between Netanyahu’s top aides and Qatar, which backs Hamas. They note that Netanyahu cooperated closely with Bar for over a year after the onslaught, and that Bar had been a key part of Israel’s negotiations team for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Bar has reportedly said he plans to stay in his role until the remaining 59 hostages held in Gaza are home, and a commission of inquiry has been established.
The PMO has insisted that Bar vacate his position by April 10. However, he remains in his post after a temporary injunction was imposed on his dismissal by the High Court of Justice, which is hearing petitions against the firing.
On Sunday, Netanyahu announced his decision to appoint Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit as the next head of the Shin Bet, before quickly backtracking amid pushback from his political allies and base. He then said the deputy head of the security agency will serve as its acting head until a permanent chief is appointed. Though the court froze Bar’s firing and therefore the formal appointment of a replacement, it allowed Netanyahu to interview candidates.
The Times of Israel Community.