{"id":119874,"date":"2025-03-17T17:05:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T15:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=119874"},"modified":"2025-03-17T10:49:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T08:49:36","slug":"17-05-107","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=119874","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu to seek dismissal of Shin Bet director"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Netanyahu to seek dismissal of Shin Bet director<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Akiva Van Koningsveld<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Israeli premier cited an “ongoing lack of trust” between himself and Israel Security Agency head Ronen Bar \u2022 Netanyahu’s “expectation of a duty of personal loyalty” is “fundamentally illegitimate,” said Bar.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) director Ronen Bar, April 18, 2024. Credit: Koby Gideon\/GPO.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he would be seeking the dismissal of Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Ronen Bar, citing a lack of confidence and \u201congoing distrust.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt all times, but especially in such an existential war, the prime minister must have full confidence in the head of the Shin Bet,\u201d said Netanyahu in a statement released by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office on Sunday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut unfortunately, the situation is exactly the opposite\u2014I do not have such confidence. I have an ongoing lack of trust in the Shin Bet chief. A distrust that has only grown over time,\u201d the statement continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to this lack of trust, Netanyahu said he had decided to submit a resolution to the government calling for Bar to be fired before the end of his five-year term on Oct. 14, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish to clarify,\u201d Netanyahu continued, that \u201cI have nothing but appreciation for the men and women of the ISA. They are doing important and dedicated work for the security of us all. As prime minister, who is responsible for the Shin Bet, I am convinced that this step is crucial in order to restore the organization, to achieve all of our war objectives, and to prevent the next tragedy,\u201d referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.<\/span><\/p>\n

The premier\u2019s announcement came a month after he removed\u00a0Bar<\/a>\u00a0from the Israeli team shuttling between Doha and Cairo to negotiate the future of the ceasefire deal with the Hamas terrorist organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, Netanyahu accused Bar of holding off-the-record briefings with Israeli journalists in an attempt to tarnish his image.<\/span><\/p>\n

Netanyahu has reportedly been attempting to oust Bar for months due to the Shin Bet\u2019s failure in the run-up to the Oct. 7 attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bar was reportedly planning to remain in the post until the return of the remaining hostages from the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7\u2014something Netanyahu has resisted, preferring a political panel that would also include security officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the PMO, Netanyahu summoned Bar to his office for an urgent meeting on Sunday night, where he informed him that the Cabinet would consider his dismissal later this week. That vote is reportedly set to take place during a special meeting on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a lengthy response to Netanyahu\u2019s statement, Bar said that \u201cthe duty of loyalty placed on the Shin Bet is first and foremost to Israeli citizens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s \u201cexpectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation. It is contrary to the General Security Service Law and contrary to the patriotic values that guide the Shin Bet and its members,\u201d said the head of the Israeli equivalent of the FBI.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following reports that Bar was refusing to step down, Shin Bet officials clarified that the director would accept his dismissal if the decision passed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whose\u00a0dismissal<\/a>\u00a0the government will discuss next week, informed Netanyahu on Sunday he could not fire Bar \u201cuntil the factual and legal basis underlying your decision is fully examined, as well as your authority to address the matter at this time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The government\u2019s freedom of action in this regard is limited by \u201cthe extraordinary sensitivity of the issue, its unprecedented nature, the concern that the process may be tainted by illegality and conflict of interest,\u201d said Baharav-Miara, adding that the \u201crole of the head of the Shin Bet is not a personal trust position serving the prime minister.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a response, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin stated that, \u201cThe General Security Service 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIn case anyone is confused, Israel is a democracy, and everyone in it, including the attorney general, is subject to the law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed Netanyahu\u2019s decision to fire Bar as a \u201cnecessary step,\u201d tweeting that \u201cit would have been appropriate for the head of the Shin Bet to take real responsibility and resign at his own initiative over a year ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter such a significant failure as the one that occurred on Simchat Torah [Oct. 7], responsibility mandates vacating the position long ago,\u201d he said, adding that the justifications Bar gave for his continuation in the job were \u201cbrazen, arrogant, and the complete opposite of democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, in recent months, there have been significant disagreements between him and the political echelon, which will be addressed in due course, providing another reason why he cannot remain in his position,\u201d Smotrich wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads the right-wing Otzma Yehudit opposition party, slammed Baharav-Miara\u2019s opposition to the move, writing that \u201csince the attorney general herself is in the midst of a dismissal process, perhaps it\u2019s worth reminding her that the \u2018conflict of interest\u2019 can also apply to actions made against the government and its leader.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He concluded: \u201cIt\u2019s time to put an end to the deep state rule, and first and foremost\u2014to expedite the dismissal of the attorney general.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid Party asserted that the prime minister was now seeking the dismissal of the Shin Bet director \u201cfor one reason only\u2014the \u2018Qatar-gate\u2019 investigation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last month, Baharav-Miara opened a criminal probe into what the Attorney-General\u2019s Office described as \u201cthe connection between elements in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office and elements linked to Qatar.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Qatar<\/a>, which has hosted the Hamas leadership and has provided the organization with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role in mediating the freedom of hostages held by the terrorist group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor a year and a half, he saw no reason to fire him, but only when the investigation into Qatar\u2019s infiltration of Netanyahu\u2019s office and the funds transferred to his closest aides began did he suddenly feel an urgency to fire him immediately,\u201d wrote Lapid in his statement on Sunday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yair Golan, the leader of the far-left HaDemokratim (\u201cThe Democrats,\u201d a merger of the former Labor and Meretz parties), described the issue in a statement as \u201ca struggle for Israel\u2019s security, future and character.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will fight in the Knesset, in the courts and in the streets. We will stop Netanyahu\u2019s attempted coup,\u201d the left-wing leader vowed on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bar entered the ranks of the Israel Security Agency as a field agent in 1993, shortly after completing his mandatory Israel Defense Forces military service in the elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bar was appointed as the head of the ISA\u2019s Operations Division in 2011, became chief of the service\u2019s resource development department five years later, and between 2018 and 2021 served as deputy director.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was appointed director under then prime minister Naftali Bennett in October 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Netanyahu to seek dismissal of Shin Bet director Akiva Van Koningsveld The Israeli premier cited an “ongoing lack of trust” between himself and Israel Security Agency head Ronen Bar \u2022 Netanyahu’s “expectation of a duty of personal loyalty” is “fundamentally illegitimate,” said Bar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119874"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119885,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119874\/revisions\/119885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}