Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Sunday and informed him of his intentions to fire him. The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that Netanyahu will bring the matter for a vote in the cabinet meeting this week to end Bar's term at the head of the internal security service.
According to sources in the PMO, Netanyahu tried to get Bar to resign but when he refused, he decided to fire him.
2חצאים רונן בר בנימין נתניהוחצאים רונן בר בנימין נתניהו
Ronen Bar, Benjamin Netanyahu(Photo: Ido Erez, Yair Sagi)
Bar, who had taken responsibility for the failings of the Shin Bet leading into the Hamas massacre of October 7, said he intended to remain in his post at least until May.
He had been advocating for a national commission of inquiry into the failings of the government, the IDF and the security agencies, while Netanyahu refuses to establish such a commission.
The dismissal of the Shin Bet chief will be argued in the courts because of a conflict of interest that the prime minister is in, as the Shin Bet has been investigating allegations that close aids of Netanyahu, who work at the PMO, have worked for Qatar.
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The Shin Bet was also investigating allegations that a spokesperson for the prime minister leaked misinformation to foreign media during the war.
2גלי בהרב-מיארהגלי בהרב-מיארה
Gali Baharav-Miara (Photo: Rafi Kotz)
The Attorney General's office is expected to oppose the due to the process that Netanyahu has begun, but the prime minister has said he intended to fire the AG Gali Baharav-Miara as well, claiming that she had been working to subvert the policies of the government.