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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he was taking action to oust the director of the Shin Bet, Israel\u2019s domestic intelligence agency, raising concerns among critics that he was seeking to undermine its independence.<\/p>\n
Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s effort to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the powerful agency, underscored longstanding tensions between the prime minister and leading members of Israel\u2019s security establishment, who have clashed over the handling of the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
The decision to pursue Mr. Bar\u2019s termination also came in the wake of Shin Bet investigations into allegations against several Netanyahu aides, including that one allegedly leaked a secret document to a foreign newspaper<\/a>.<\/p>\n The prime minister\u2019s office said that Mr. Netanyahu had informed Mr. Bar that a draft resolution for his ouster would be presented to the Israeli cabinet this week for approval.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But in a letter, Gali Baharav-Miara, the attorney general, said Mr. Netanyahu wasn\u2019t allowed to even begin the process until a determination was made about the legality of terminating Mr. Bar. She said there were concerns that it would be a conflict of interest for Mr. Netanyahu. <\/p>\n Members of Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s coalition have demanded the prime minister fire Mr. Bar for what they say is his undermining of the prime minister. They have also called for firing Ms. Baharav-Miara, who has long had a strained relationship with Mr. Netanyahu.<\/p>\n Any decision to remove Mr. Bar, who has led the agency since 2021, would also probably be appealed to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n In a recorded video message posted on social media, Mr. Netanyahu said the firing was necessary because he didn\u2019t trust Mr. Bar.<\/p>\n \u201cAt any time \u2014 especially during an existential war like this one \u2014 there must be complete trust between the prime minister and the director of the Shin Bet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Bar fired back with a strongly worded public statement, saying Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s expectation of \u201cpersonal trust\u201d was in opposition to the public\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fundamentally flawed expectation that is in contravention with the Shin Bet law and statesmanship,\u201d he said in a rare public statement.<\/p>\n Mr. Bar said he had previously told Mr. Netanyahu that he planned to stay in his post until the return of all hostages held in Gaza and the completion of a number of sensitive investigations. He also said he wanted to finish preparing two people whom he described as candidates to succeed him.<\/p>\n The move to terminate Mr. Bar followed the removal in the last several months of two other security leaders who were often at odds with the prime minister: the defense minister<\/a> and the Israeli military\u2019s chief of staff<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former members of the Shin Bet have raised concerns about the possibility of Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s nominating a successor to Mr. Bar based on political considerations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIsraeli democracy is on a crash course,\u201d said Ami Ayalon, a former head of the Shin Bet. If the prime minister manages to oust Mr. Bar, it would be \u201canother step toward turning Israel into a state that prioritizes personal loyalty to the leader above all else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n