Israeli government dismiss head of intelligence agency, Shin Bet

The Israeli government have dismissed the head of the domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, at the behest of Prime Minister Netanyahu in a move that could undermine Israel’s claims to be a democracy.

“Ronen Bar will end his role as Shin Bet head on April 10, 2025 or when a permanent Shin Bet head is appointed – whichever comes first,” Netanyahu’s office said, according to the Financial Times on March 21^st.

Citing an “ongoing lack of trust,” Netanyahu has assigned the blame for the October 7^th attack, which killed over 1000 Israelis, onto Ronen Bar who has accepted responsibility for the failure to prevent the attack and already stated he would resign before the end of his tenure in 2026.

However, the cabinet meeting went ahead in the early hours of this morning without the presence of Bar who, instead, sent a letter to ministers saying the process around his firing did not comply with rules and his dismissal was predicated on baseless claims.

His assertions are supported by the Attorney General, also at risk of being dismissed by Netanyahu, who said he could not dismiss Bar, “until the factual and legal basis underlying your decision and your ability to deal with this matter is clarified.”

Netanyahu’s ability then to dismiss Bar with the support of the government undermines the judicial institutions in Israel set to protect the arms of the state from becoming a personal dictatorship.

According to Reuters, even before the war in Gaza, tens of thousands of regular demonstrations were protesting the government’s drive to curb the power of the judiciary, which many see as an attack on Israeli democracy.

Whilst Netanyahu claims Bar’s dismissal was due to the latter’s incompetence as head of Shin Bet, Bar, in his letter to the government, said the decision to fire him was “entirely tainted by… conflicts of interest” and driven by “completely different, extraneous and fundamentally unacceptable motives.”

The decision followed months of escalating tensions between the two over a corruption investigation into allegations that a number of Netanyahu’s aides were offered bribes by figures connected with Qatar to improve the Gulf country’s image before the 2022 FIFA World Cup – accusations which Netanyahu adamantly denies dismissing the accusations as a politically motivated attempt to unseat him.

Netanyahu has also opposed Bar in his fight to avoid a public inquiry into the events that led up to Hamas’s assault in October 2023, and instead seeking to pin the blame on his security chiefs. Herzi Haleva, chief of the military, was forced out earlier this month.

Bar has accused Netanyahu of failings which contributed to the attack, issuing a statement in which he argues Netanyahu’s government defined the policy towards Hamas and ignored Shin Bet’s warnings.

Bar’s dismissal, along with the head of the military without due legal process, comes after Netanyahu’s Justice Minister refused to recongise the authority of the new head of the Supreme Court, whose appointment the government delayed for more than a year. The government is now advancing legislation to give them more power over Supreme Court appointees.

The Israeli government, even despite their war on Gaza, seem to be challenging the legitimacy of their domestic judicial institutions, a move which many critics have argued poses a dangerous threat to Israel’s democracy.

The last three days in Israel, since Netanyahu announced his intention to dismiss Bar have seen ongoing protests. Demonstrators opposing the removal of Bar have joined forces with protestors angry at the resumption of war in Gaza whilst 59 Israeli hostages remain in the Palestinian enclave.

On Thursday, police fired water cannons at protestors and made numerous arrests as scuffles broke out in Tel Aviv and close to the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, highlighting deepening divisions since Netanyahu’s return to power at the end of 2022 and the public view of the war in Gaza.

Former Defence Minister Benny Gantz said the clashes were a result of divisions caused by an “extremist government that has lost its grip.”

The Israeli government and its leader Netanyahu appear to be more “Trumpian” than ever, with a complete dismissal of judicial institutions in favour of the centralization of power into the hands of the executive branch of government.

The lack of legitimacy of domestic institutions comes as Israel also dismisses the legitimacy of international institutions after Netanyahu recently denounced the UN report which concluded Israel had committed “genocidal acts” and sexual abuse in the Gaza Strip, including forced public nudity and stripping, sexual harassment, threats of rape, and sexual assault.

Netanyahu instead called the findings “false and absurd” before accusing the UN Human Rights Council of anti-Semitism and corruption.