The High Court of Justice on Friday froze the government’s Thursday decision to fire Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar until the hearing on the petition against the move.
The move followed the cabinet’s unanimous Thursday vote to end the agency chief’s term, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to put forward such a proposal to the cabinet.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to the court’s decision, saying, “The court will not manage the war or choose its commanders. Period.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared on X/Twitter, “Judicial reform now.”
The prime minister’s decision came amid the Shin Bet investigation into Netanyahu aides who were allegedly involved in the Qatargate affair.
“You can listen and consider proposals, but it is unacceptable for the head of the Shin Bet to publicly promote one of the approaches to national commissions of inquiry [into the failures during the October 7 massacre],” Netanyahu reportedly noted in leaked recordings of the meeting.
“He [Bar] should tell me this in private and not drag the organization into political matters,” the prime minister added.
“He is manipulating the word ‘trust.’ He knows that I am not asking for a ‘personal duty of trust.’ I need to look him in the eyes and trust him professionally and personally without hesitation when approving sensitive operations,” Netanyahu said.
“Government ministers – can anyone imagine that we would continue working without trust because of a court order? That cannot happen, and it will not happen,” he continued.
Opposition submits petition
Adv. Dr. Eliad Shraga, chair of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, said in a statement, “The High Court of Justice’s decision is a first and important step in the struggle to protect the independence of law enforcement systems and gatekeepers in Israel. We will continue to fight with all tools at our disposal against attempts to undermine the rule of law, and to investigate the dangerous connections between the prime minister’s associates and Qatar.”
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu had made those remarks.
Earlier on Friday, opposition parties Yesh Atid, National Unity, Yisrael Beytenu, and The Democrats submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice demanding an injunction against the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief.