Ronen Bar (Photo: GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/EPA)
On 21 April, the head of the Shabak (Israel’s General Security Service), Ronen Bar, filed an official statement with the BAGAT (Israeli Supreme Court of Justice) as part of a lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government’s decision to dismiss him. According to Kan TV, part of the application is confidential, but the key points have already become public.
In his statement, Bar noted that he was not informed of the reasons for his dismissal, but, according to him, they were “not related to professionalism”, but rather to political motives.
“These reasons, in my opinion, led to an unusual sequence of actions on the part of the prime minister, along with a coordinated campaign against me in the media and social media,” Bara said in a statement.
Refusal to serve – and pressure on the special service
Netanyahu accused Bar of allegedly not acting tough enough against the protest campaign aimed at mass conscientious objection. Bar rejected these accusations, saying that the prime minister’s demands actually violated the limits of Shabak’s functioning:
“This demonstrates how the prime minister perceives the role of the head of Shabak. He is trying to use the capabilities of the intelligence service to influence public protests that are not accompanied by violence,” Bar said.
His statement was the first direct legal step taken by the current head of the Israeli intelligence service against the government, which has already caused a wide response in society and political circles. It also confirms the deep tension between the security services and the Netanyahu government amid the war in Gaza, the hostage crisis and ongoing protests.
Political storm before Independence Day
Bara’s lawsuit was filed on the eve of Israel’s Independence Day celebrations, when the country is in a state of internal division. High-profile accusations of politicisation of the security services, the dismissal of senior officials and protests against the government have deepened the sense of institutional instability.
At the time of publication, the Prime Minister’s Office had not provided an official comment on Ronen Bar’s lawsuit. However, political observers are already calling the move “an unprecedented signal of a crisis of confidence between the government and the security establishment”.
