Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until Sunday to submit his affidavit arguing for the legitimacy of firing Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar, the High Court of Justice announced on Thursday, following an appeal from the government to extend the deadline.
The government argued that it extended Bar’s deadline when he requested it, albeit only by a day, and that the classified parts of Bar’s affidavit were only sent to the government at a late hour. A proper response demands more time, the government argued.
Additionally, attorney Zion Amir, the lawyer representing the government in the case – as the Attorney-General’s office, which ordinarily would, is against the dismissal – traveled to Poland to participate in the March of the Living for Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, making it so that more time is needed to compose a response, said the government.
The affidavits are the result of a compromise proposal set by the High Court at the conclusion of a hearing on the legality of Bar’s firing on April 8. Petitioners argued that the move is rooted in political motivations, not professional ones, and that it was prompted by the agency’s investigation of Qatari ties and influences on figures close to Netanyahu – aide Yonatan Urich and spokesman Eli Feldstein.
The Attorney-General’s office argued that the move broke protocol, while the government argued that it is within its right to fire the Shin Bet chief and that the lack of trust between Bar and Netanyahu necessitates his dismissal.
Bar claims his firing is due to political threats
In the affidavit, Bar asserted that Netanyahu decided to fire him due to a series of measures that posed political threats, including the investigation, Bar’s refusal to approve security measures that would have delayed Netanyahu’s testimony in his criminal trial, the Shin Bet’s October 7 probe, which indicated that the political echelon ignored repeated warnings about the security dangers of the social rift over the 2023 judicial reform legislation, and Bar’s insistence on the formation of a State Commission of Inquiry.
Calls emerged after the affidavit was publicized to enact a process to announce Netanyahu as incapable of serving in his position.
Part of the debate has been the date at which Bar would resign. The government argued that he should have done so after the publication of the agency’s October 7 probe, similar to what former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Herzi Halevi did, in a show of accountability. Bar’s term is set to end sometime in 2026, and though he offered some damning insights into the government’s behavior in his affidavit, he has not yet specified a date.
He said it would happen “shortly,” and allegedly told bereaved father Itzik Bonzel that it would be within a few weeks, or up to two months at most.
Over the past week, Netanyahu demanded from the court that Bar announce a date. The judges on Thursday denied the request, explaining that legally, the request should have been directed first at Bar, and not to the court. It added that they have until Monday to provide evidence that this protocol was followed.
Haaretz appealed on Thursday to the court to have the contents of the affidavits publicized, barring any information that poses a national security threat. All sides – the government, Netanyahu, the Attorney-General’s Office and Bar will have until next Sunday, May 4, to submit responses.
In his affidavit, Bar also wrote that the prime minister asked him to use the agency’s resources to surveil prominent anti-government protest leaders. Reports later said that one of the figures was attorney and activist Gonen Ben Yitzhak, himself a former Shin Bet agent, who is one of the leaders of Maarach Otef Atzurim, a legal aid organization that provides free services to protesters. On Thursday, the group announced that it joined Haaretz’s petition.
Eve Young and Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
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