Hannah Ellis-Petersen
The Guardian / April 21, 2025
Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s internal security service, says he was also asked to spy on anti-government protesters.
Jerusalem – The director of Israel’s internal intelligence agency, Shin Bet, has alleged that Benjamin Netanyahu fired him for refusing to pledge his loyalty to the prime minister over the courts and use the agency to spy on anti-government protesters.
The battle between Netanyahu and Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, has pushed Israel to the brink of a constitutional crisis, after the supreme court blocked a decision by the cabinet to dismiss Bar from his post – the first Shin Bet head to be fired.
Bar had alleged that the decision to fire him was driven by Netanyahu’s “personal interests”. On Monday, Bar submitted an 31-page affidavit to the supreme court, which halted his firing last month. The affidavit detailed his version of the events that led to the breakdown of his relationship with Netanyahu and his dismissal. Some sections relating to national security were kept classified.
Among the most serious allegations made in Bar’s affidavit was the claim that “on several occasions” Netanyahu explicitly told Shin Bet to conduct surveillance on citizens involved in anti-government protests, which he refused to do. Bar said the prime minister demanded the agency “provide details regarding the identities of Israeli citizens, protest activists” involved in any demonstrations against the Netanyahu government, and monitor those deemed to be “protest funders”.
Bar also alleged that Netanyahu had made clear to him that in a constitutional crisis, his loyalty must be to the prime minister and not the high court of justice. He also said “an effort was made to coerce me” to sign a document that would have helped Netanyahu avoid publicly testifying in court in a corruption case against him, which Bar pushed back on.
Bar alleged that Netanyahu would voice these demands at the ends of meetings, away from any official documentation. “It was clearly intended to prevent any record of the conversation,” said Bar.
“To this day, the reason for my firing is not clear to me,” he wrote in the affidavit. “But, the developments that took place over the last few months indicate one thing: at some point late last year, the decision to fire me was consolidated. It was not rooted in any professional metric, but out of an expectation by Netanyahu that I would be personally loyal to him.”
In the buildup to Monday’s submission to the courts, it was reported Bar had been put under immense pressure by Netanyahu’s government not to submit his affidavit. He had initially been due to submit it on Sunday, but requested an extra day. It was also leaked to Israeli media that Bar intended to resign in mid-May, which was immediately denied by Shin Bet.
Netanyahu’s office hit back instantly at Bar’s allegations, calling them “a complete lie” and saying the “false affidavit” would be refuted. The government has until Thursday to submit its response to the courts. Netanyahu has said he had lost all trust in Bar’s capacity to lead Shin Bet and accused him of a conflict of interest and politicising the agency.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the political opposition, said that Bar’s affidavit “proves that Netanyahu is a danger to Israeli security and cannot continue to serve as prime minister.”
The relationship between Bar and Netanyahu had become increasingly acrimonious after the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel. In a report on the events, Shin Bet admitted the agency’s own failures but also criticised policies of the Netanyahu government that it said had enabled a buildup of Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu has never accepted any responsibility for Israel’s worst national security disaster, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to 251 being abducted and held hostage in Gaza.
Bar’s authorisation for Shin Bet to open two investigations into Netanyahu’s close aides, including one for allegedly taking payments from Qatar to promote its interests in Israel, at the same time that Qatar was partly financing Hamas in Gaza, was said to only strengthen the prime minister’s animosity. With Netanyahu already facing a multitude of corruption charges in court, political opponents have alleged he wanted to remove Bar in order to sabotage the investigations.
In his affidavit, Bar stood by the actions taken by Shin Bet. “The incitement that has accompanied the investigations, against me and all those tasked with protecting state secrets, demonstrates the connection between the investigations and the timing of my dismissal,” he said.
On Sunday night, Shlomo Karhi, a minister in Netanyahu’s Likud party, told Israeli media that the courts should not be interfering with the cabinet decision to dismiss Bar. “Those who talk about the high court of justice, how it’s the be-all and end-all, what is democratic about that?” he said.
In a press conference, Lapid condemned the direct threats of violence that Bar was facing for standing up to the Netanyahu government. “The level of incitement and insanity are without precedent,” he said. “The red line has been crossed. If we don’t stop this, there will be a political assassination, possibly more than one. Jews will kill Jews.”
Hannah Ellis-Petersen is The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent
________
Israel’s domestic security chief accuses Netanyahu of making improper demands of him as rift deepens
Tia Goldenberg
AP / April 21, 2025
TEL AVIV – The head of Israel’s internal security service on Monday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to exploit the power of the agency for political and personal gain through a litany of improper demands. His comments deepened a showdown between the two men that has divided the nation.
In a submission to the Supreme Court, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar wrote that he refused a request from Netanyahu to identify Israeli anti-government protesters and surveil their financial backers.
Bar said he also was told to obey Netanyahu and not the courts in the event of a constitutional crisis. And he said there were attempts to force him to sign a document that would make it nearly impossible for Netanyahu to testify in his corruption trial because of security concerns, something he said he rejected doing.
Netanyahu’s office called Bar’s affidavit “full of lies.”
The affidavit was the latest salvo in a deepening rift between Netanyahu and the Shin Bet, which monitors Palestinian militant groups and is seen as having played a major role in failing to prevent Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that sparked the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu moved to fire Bar last month over what he said was a crisis of confidence surrounding Hamas’ attacks. The step to dismiss Bar sparked an uproar in Israel because it came as the agency is investigating ties between the Israeli leader’s office and the Gulf Arab state of Qatar — a key mediator between Hamas and Israel over the war in Gaza. Critics say the firing is tainted by a conflict of interest meant to derail that probe, a charge Netanyahu denies.
Israel’s Supreme Court froze Bar’s firing following multiple legal challenges against the move. In a hearing earlier this month, it called on the sides to reach a compromise on Bar’s dismissal. The affidavit was submitted as part of deliberations on the firing.
The Shin Bet is meant to be apolitical, but Bar has accused Netanyahu of demanding personal loyalty. He said he was submitting his affidavit to ensure the agency’s “professional independence as well as its ability to refuse to carry out improper orders.”
Netanyahu’s office said Bar’s affidavit was further proof of the Shin Bet chief’s failures surrounding Oct. 7. Responding to Bar’s accusations, it said Netanyahu made no illegal requests against the protesters but rather asked for stricter enforcement against what he said was their “violent incitement.” The statement denied Netanyahu had sought to disrupt his testimony.
Netanyahu has sought repeatedly to cast blame for Hamas’ attacks on his security chiefs, despite mounting public pressure that he accept responsibility for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 assault. Bar, in the early weeks of the war, accepted blame for his role in the blunder and has said he would resign in due time. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has resisted calls for an official governmental probe into the military and intelligence failures surrounding the attack.
Tia Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories
