Deputy Minister and Noam MK Avi Maoz accused the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) of planning a coup against the government in statements on the Kol Barama radio show last Tuesday, prior to Prime Minister Benjmin Netanyahu's announcement that he was seeking to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Sunday.
השב"כ ניהל דיונים איך לפעול נגד הכנסת | סגן השר אבי מעוז ליקי אדמקר וישראל כהן בשמונה אפס אפס: "כבר שנה אני קורא לפיטוריו של ראש השב"כ. לאחר הבחירות, התרעתי בפני ראש הממשלה שהשב"כ פועל להפיכה במדינת ישראל. לפני שנתיים פורסם שבשב"כ מתנהלים דיונים איך לפעול במידה והכנסת תפעל נגד…
— קול ברמה (@KolBarama) March 11, 2025
Maoz told presenters that for the past year, he had been "calling for the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet," due to the Shin Bet "working towards a coup in the State of Israel."
He cited Shin Bet announcements following the 2022 election that the agency was planning "how to act if the Knesset acted against the judicial system."
Maoz questioned the agency's competency in making this decision because the agency is responsible for protecting democracy in Israel.
"The body responsible for preserving democracy is the Shin Bet. Protection from whom?" Maoz said. "From those who want to destroy democracy. How does the Shin Bet interpret whether the political echelon wants to harm democracy?"
Firing Ronen Bar
Following Netanyahu's announcement that he was seeking to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Maoz tweeted, saying, "This is what democracy looks like. This is how you defeat the Deep State."
כך נראית דמוקרטיה.כך מנצחים את הדיפ-סטייט.
— אבי מעוז (@AVI_MAOZ) March 16, 2025
Netanyahu and his supporters have regularly blamed the "Deep State" for the series of corruption cases opened against him.
Following October 7, Netanyahu has attacked attempts to open an investigation into the massacre as part of a "Deep State conspiracy" set on deposing him, most recently in early March.
Netanyahu sought to fire Bar after the Shin Bet began investigating his aides as part of the "Qatargate" scandal, where several aides were paid by Qatar while being involved in the negotiations.
Netanyahu's announcement that he was seeking to fire Bar was met with a quick response from Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, who sent a letter saying that firing Bar would be a conflict of interest. The letter requires Netanyahu to wait until the investigation is complete before firing him.
Baharav-Miara highlighted that the decision about whether to fire Bar and who his replacement will be must be strictly apolitical.