Benjamin Netanyahu moved to fire Ronen Bar, who joined the agency in 1993, on Sunday, citing a “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason.
Following a report on the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he no longer trusted him, the chief of Israel’s internal intelligence service, Shin Bet, was fired on Friday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to terminate ISA Director Ronen Bar’s tenure was unanimously accepted by the government, according to a statement.
According to the statement, he will step down from his position as soon as his replacement is chosen, or no later than April 10.
Netanyahu moved to fire Bar, who joined the agency in 1993, on Sunday, citing a “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason.
The previous Israeli government, which briefly ousted Netanyahu from office between June 2021 and December 2022, nominated Bar as the head of the Shin Bet in October 2021, with the intention of ending his term just the following year.
Even prior to the historic October Hamas attack that precipitated the war in Gaza, he and Netanyahu had a tense relationship, particularly because of proposed judicial reforms that caused division in the nation.
After the internal Shin Bet report on the Hamas attack was made public on March 4, relations deteriorated.
It stated that “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military buildup” while also admitting the agency’s own failure to stop the attack.
Bar, who accepted responsibility for his agency’s inability to stop the attack, had already made it clear that he would step down before the conclusion of his tenure.
Secret motives
When Bar was fired, the opposition became enraged and protested, accusing Netanyahu of endangering democracy.
As ministers met in the Israeli parliament late Thursday, thousands of Israelis braved inclement weather to protest outside Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem.
Bar characterized Netanyahu’s arguments as “general, unsubstantiated accusations that seem to hide the motivations behind the decision to terminate (his) duties” in a letter released to the public on Thursday.
He said that “personal interest” was the true motivation and that the goal was to “avoid investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” that the Shin Bet was looking into.
He made reference to the “complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation” that the media has called “Qatargate” and which involves Netanyahu’s close associates who are accused of receiving money from Qatar.
Following a two-month ceasefire and “targeted” ground operations, the Israeli army started a series of devastating and enormous bombardments on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, which led to Bar’s dismissal.
According to Netanyahu, the goal of the actions was to pressure Hamas into releasing the 58 hostages that were still in the area.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his concern on Thursday that the resumption of strikes during a crisis could weaken “national resilience” in a rare attack on Netanyahu.
