On Friday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to fire Ronen Bar, the director of the Shin Bet, the nation's internal intelligence agency, on grounds of "lack of trust."
This comes after the controversy surrounding a report on the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which resulted in mass criticism of Shin Bet's inability to prevent the attack.
Bar, who joined the agency in 1993 and took over as its head in October 2021, was to serve until next year. His firing followed a March report that admitted Shin Bet's failure but also noted the "policy of quiet" that enabled Hamas to expand militarily. The relationship between Bar and Netanyahu had been strained, especially regarding Israel's planned judicial reforms, and deteriorated after the report came out.
As a reaction to his dismissal, Bar indicated that the motive behind Netanyahu's firing of him was "personal interest" and aimed at preventing investigations into matters such as the alleged "Qatargate" case, which entails persons close to Netanyahu.
This move has also enraged opposition parties and Israelis protesting, with critics labeling Netanyahu as undermining democracy. Israeli President Isaac Herzog also raised a concern that the continued military incursions into Gaza might damage national resilience at a moment of crisis.
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