“The government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA [Israeli Security Agency] director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said.
Bar is “soft” and “not the right person to rehabilitate the organisation,” Netanyahu said, according to his office. He "was not aggressive enough,” the PM said. He accused Bar of overseeing leaks from within the agency.
Bar did not attend the cabinet meeting and in a letter sent to ministers said his dismissal was predicated on baseless claims and did not follow due rules and process.
He slammed the government’s “unfounded claims that are nothing more than a cover for completely different, extraneous and fundamentally invalid motives designed to disrupt the ability of the Shin Bet to fulfil its role.”
He will leave his post when his successor is appointed, or by April 10, the statement from Netanyahu's office said. His final day was initially scheduled for April 20.
Bar, whose term should have come to an end next year, was appointed by the previous Israeli government.
His relations with Netanyahu had been strained over the proposed judicial reforms in 2023, before the Hamas attack on October 7.
The situation between the pair worsened after a release earlier this month of a Shin Bet report on the Hamas massacre.
Shin Bet acknowledged their failure in preventing the attack, but also said “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military build-up”.
The agency is also investigating Netanyahu’s aides for alleged breaches of national security, including leaking classified information to foreign media and accepting money from Qatar, which has financially supported Hamas.
Netanyahu has sought to blame the failure on October 7 on Israel’s security establishment. The PM said he was not woken up in the hours before the invasion when signs of an attack were being identified.
Both the IDF and Shin Bet have acknowledged their failures surrounding October 7 – but the PM’s office has yet to accept any responsibility.
According to a Channel 12 opinion poll, 51 per cent of Israelis oppose the firing of Bar compared to 32 per cent who support his dismissal. Forty-six per cent say they trust Bar more than Netanyahu, while 32 per cent trust Netanyahu more than Bar.
Over the past three days, demonstrators protesting the decision to fire Bar have joined forces with demonstrators angry at the move to resume fighting in Gaza and end the two-month ceasefire while 59 hostages remain trapped in the strip.
Hundreds of protesters in Jerusalem chanted: “Israel is not Turkey, Israel is not Iran.” They accused Netanyahu of a series of “red flag” moves that undermine Israeli democracy, including sacking Bar, and efforts to oust the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who has suggested that dismissing Bar might be unlawful.
