Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Sunday that he will fire Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) director Ronen Bar – and Bar’s response that he will not leave until sensitive investigations inside the Prime Minister’s Office are concluded – dramatically escalates the ongoing confrontation between Netanyahu and the Shin Bet even as Israel remains at war.
This move – coming amid ongoing security challenges, the hostage negotiations, and a Shin Bet investigation into Netanyahu’s office in the so-called Qatargate affair – raises serious concerns about the politicization of Israel’s security apparatus at perhaps the most inopportune moment.
It also places Netanyahu on a collision course with Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom he is also reportedly seeking to replace. Baharav-Miara has said she was not aware of the decision to fire Bar, and that she should have been consulted beforehand.
In a video announcement explaining his decision, Netanyahu said: “At all times, but especially during such an existential war, there must be complete trust between the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet. Unfortunately, the opposite is true: I do not have such trust. I have an ongoing lack of trust in the head of the Shin Bet, which has intensified with time.”
If Bar is ultimately fired – an outcome surely to face a challenge in the High Court of Justice – it would mean that the defense minister, the IDF chief of staff, and the Shin Bet director, all of whom were in charge during the October 7 massacre, would have left their positions, while Netanyahu, the head of the pyramid at that time, remains in place.
This is unlikely to enhance public trust in Netanyahu or the government at such a tumultuous time; instead, it risks distracting from the nation’s unity and security at a moment of crisis, leading to questions about how this move serves the country’s interests.
The decision to dismiss Bar follows a series of public confrontations, including a stunning interview given last Thursday by former Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman on Channel 12. Argaman, who led the agency from 2016-2021, openly declared he had damaging information on Netanyahu and would expose it if the prime minister crossed a redline that Argaman, as the self-appointed supreme gatekeeper, would define.
Argaman also warned that firing Bar and appointing a new Shin Bet director would politicize the organization and threaten Israel’s democracy.
Argaman’s comments sounded less like those of a former security chief and more like a crime boss, leading Netanyahu to condemn his remarks as “extortion.” He accused Argaman of engaging in mafia-style threats and called for a police investigation, which the Israel Police decided on Sunday to pursue.
This move likely preempted any possibility that Argaman would deem the firing of Bar as crossing his redline, something that would prompt him to reveal what he claimed to know about Netanyahu.
Argaman’s comments set a dangerous precedent. While he emphasized the need for a transparent working relationship between the prime minister and the Shin Bet chief, he also made clear that he would reveal information if he deemed it necessary. This could irreparably damage future prime ministers’ trust in their Shin Bet chiefs.
If Argaman is willing to break confidentiality at his discretion, every future prime minister might fear that a Shin Bet head could do the same, making it nearly impossible to maintain a secure and candid working relationship.
Bar, recognizing the potential long-term damage Argaman’s comments could cause to relations between future prime ministers and their security heads, disassociated himself from the remarks on Friday. In a letter to former Shin Bet staff, Bar clarified that Argaman had misspoken.
“A state body and its head do not use their power for purposes other than fulfilling their mission,” he wrote. “I distance myself from discourse that is not statesmanlike and does not align with our values and actions.”
The die was already cast, however, and Netanyahu’s decision to fire Bar – something reportedly in the works for months – was not related to Argaman’s interview.
Frustration at Bar’s refusal to resign
In his response to Argaman’s remarks, Netanyahu also took aim at Bar.
“This [Argaman’s] crime joins an entire campaign of extortion through media briefings in recent days, led by current Shin Bet head Ronen Bar,” he said. “The sole aim is to prevent me from making the necessary decisions to rehabilitate the Shin Bet after its severe failure on October 7.”
With the country still officially at war, and the possibility of the IDF fighting intensively inside Gaza again, these public clashes between Netanyahu and the Shin Bet’s past and present leadership do little to serve national security. On the contrary, they undermine public confidence at a critical moment.
Netanyahu’s anger at Bar stems from his refusal to resign and the ongoing Qatargate investigation. Netanyahu had asked Bar to step down, claiming Bar resisted because he sought to prevent Netanyahu from restructuring the Shin Bet.
But as critics have long pointed out – and as will likely be emphasized even more following Sunday night’s dramatic developments – Netanyahu’s real motive may be to make Bar and the agency scapegoats for the failures of October 7.
The Shin Bet has already taken responsibility for the failures on October 7, and Bar has pledged to resign after the remaining hostages are freed and a state commission of inquiry is established. Netanyahu has made no such commitment.
In the midst of the ongoing war, the dramatic firing of Bar is hardly without consequence – surely to distract and likely to affect the performance of this critical organization at a time of multiple challenges.
National security is being tested not only by external threats but also by political battles – a feud that only weakens Israel at a time when it most needs to project strength.
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