Netanyahu seeks to oust the head of the intelligence service

17/3/2025 5:55

Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu has told the head of the Shin Bet domestic

intelligence service that he will ask the government to approve

his dismissal this week, a statement from Netanyahu's office

said on Sunday.



Ronen Bar's sacking would be likely to draw widespread

criticism as Israel faces the prospect of a renewal of fighting

in Gaza with dozens of Israeli hostages still held there.



Netanyahu said he had long ago lost confidence in Bar and

that trust in the head of the domestic security service, whose

roles include counter-terrorism and security for government

officials, was especially crucial at a time of war.



Bar said the only confidence he was obliged to win was that

of Israel's citizens, and that Netanyahu's expectations of

"personal trust" went against state interests, with possible

escalation in Gaza looming.



The war was triggered by Hamas' surprise attack on October

7, 2023, one of Israel's worst security failures, which led to

the killing of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture

of 251 who were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli

tallies.



Bar's dismissal will be brought before government on

Wednesday, according to an official close to Netanyahu, but

could face legal challenges.



Shin Bet, the Israeli counterpart of the U.S. Federal

Bureau of Investigations, is part of a probe into possible links

between employees in Netanyahu's office and Qatar, which has

been mediating Gaza ceasefire talks.



Appointed in 2021 by the previous government, Bar has

acknowledged his responsibility for the October 7 failure, most

recently this month in an investigation of its actions on the

day of the assault and the time leading up to it.



Bar said he had told Netanyahu he planned to step down,

but only once the remaining 59 hostages were home and after

completing "sensitive investigations".



The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said

firing Bar was meant to torpedo the probe into links with Qatar.



The justice minister is separately trying to oust the



attorney general



, while Netanyahu



sacked



defence minister Yoav Gallant in November, and military

chief Herzi Halevi



stepped down



in January over the October 7 security failure.



Netanyahu himself has resisted calls to establish a

state inquiry into the October 7 failure, or step down over it.



Bar said a full investigation cannot stop with the

military or the Shin Bet, but must also probe the government and

the prime minister who, he said, had repeatedly ignored agency

warnings, particularly in the year leading up to the attack.