Netanyahu seeks to dismiss Israel's internal security chief as power
struggle boils over
[March 17, 2025]
By MELANIE LIDMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday
he will seek to dismiss the head of the internal security service this
week, deepening a power struggle focused largely on who bears
responsibility for the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s effort to remove Ronen Bar as director of the Shin Bet comes
as the security service investigates close aides of the prime minister.
Netanyahu said he has had “ongoing distrust” with Bar, and “this
distrust has grown over time.”
Bar responded by saying he planned to continue in the post for the near
future, citing “personal obligations” to finish “sensitive
investigations," free the remaining hostages in Gaza and prepare
potential successors.
Bar also criticized Netanyahu’s expectation of a personal loyalty that
contradicts the public interest. But he emphasized that he would respect
any legal decision regarding his tenure.
Attorney general says Netanyahu must explain legal basis for his
decision
Israel’s attorney general said Netanyahu must clarify the legal basis
for his decision before taking any action.
The Shin Bet is responsible for monitoring Palestinian militant groups,
and recently issued a report accepting responsibility for its failures
around the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. It also criticized Netanyahu,
saying failed government policies helped create the climate that led to
it.
While the army concluded in a recent report that it underestimated
Hamas’ capabilities, Shin Bet said it had a “deep understanding of the
threat.” In veiled criticism of the government, the agency said its
attempts to thwart the threat were not implemented.
“The investigation reveals a long and deliberate disregard from the
political leadership from the organization’s warnings,” Bar's statement
said.
Deflecting blame for the Oct. 7 attack
Netanyahu has resisted calls for an official state commission of inquiry
into the Oct. 7 attack and has tried to blame the failures on the army
and security agencies. In recent months, a number of senior security
officials, including a defense minister and army chief, have been fired
or forced to step down.
Bar has been one of the few senior security officials since the Oct. 7
attack to remain in office.
If successful in removing him, Netanyahu would be expected to appoint a
loyalist in his place, slowing any momentum for the commission of
inquiry. The prime minister said removing him would help Israel “achieve
its war goals and prevent the next disaster.”
Netanyahu’s proposed resolution for Bar’s dismissal would need the
approval of parliament, the Knesset, and it is likely he has support to
pass it.
However, a personnel decision of this magnitude must get the attorney
general’s approval, said Amichai Cohen, a senior research fellow at the
Israel Democracy Institute think tank.
In her letter to Netanyahu warning he could not go ahead without
clarification, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara added that he should
“pay attention to the fact that the role of the Shin Bet is not to serve
the personal trust of the prime minister,” according to a statement from
her office.
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Ronen Bar, chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency,
attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of
Israel's wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl
military cemetery, May 13, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool photo via AP,
File)
The two have a combative relationship, with the prime minister
accusing Baharav-Miara of meddling in government decisions. Earlier
this month, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, one of Netanyahu’s biggest
supporters, initiated the process of firing her.
Cohen also called Netanyahu’s decision “very problematic." He said
it illustrates the conflict of interest regarding the Shin Bet
findings around the Oct. 7 attack and the agency's investigations
into connections between the prime minister’s office and Qatar, a
mediator in talks on the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu is angry that the Shin Bet is investigating members of his
staff for their dealings with Qatar.
Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu’s former spokesperson, was reported by
Israel’s Channel 12 to have worked for a Doha-based firm that
recruited Israeli journalists to write pro-Qatar stories. Israel’s
left-leaning daily, Haaretz, has reported that two other Netanyahu
staffers, Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn, allegedly built a
campaign to bolster Qatar’s image ahead of the 2022 World Cup there.
The Shin Bet, and Bar, have been closely involved with the Gaza
hostage negotiations. Netanyahu recently removed Bar from the
negotiating team and replaced him with a loyalist, Cabinet minister
Ron Dermer. Israeli media have reported on policy differences
between the negotiators, who have pushed for a hostage deal, and
Netanyahu, who threatens to resume the war.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good-governance
civil society group, called Netanyahu’s announcement a “declaration
of war on the rule of law” and claimed that he does not have the
authority to take the step against Bar because of the investigations
into his office.
The group's chair, Eliad Shraga, called the announcement unlawful
and “an extreme example of conflict of interest.”
Opposition leader calls plans to dismiss Bar ‘shameful’
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would appeal Bar’s dismissal,
calling the resolution “shameful” and politically motivated.
Since Netanyahu was indicted on corruption charges in 2019, he has
claimed to be the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy by the media,
judiciary and other unelected civil servants.
He launched a plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system in
early 2023, sparking months of street protests by demonstrators who
accused him of trying to weaken the country’s system of checks and
balances.
Israeli media have said Bar was among top security officials warning
ahead of the Oct. 7 attack that the strife was sending an image of
weakness to Israel’s enemies.
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