The Albany Gazette - Israel attorney general warns govt against naming new security chief

The unprecedented move to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has deepened divisions in the country while Israel resumes its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The top court's decision earlier Friday came after opposition parties and a non-governmental organisation filed separate appeals following the government's decision to sack Bar.

"According to the decision of the Supreme Court, it is prohibited to take any action that harms the position of the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar," Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a message to Netanyahu published by a spokesperson.

"It is prohibited to appoint a new head of Shin Bet, and interviews for the position should not be held."

In a post on X, Netanyahu insisted it was up to the government to decide who heads the domestic security agency.

"There will be no civil war! The State of Israel is a state of law, and according to the law, the government of Israel decides who will be the head of the Shin Bet," Netanyahu said.

Shin Bet has acknowledged its own failure to prevent Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that started the Gaza war, but Bar has pointed to the need for a broader probe that would include the prime minister.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid's centre-right Yesh Atid party said it appealed Bar's dismissal before the Supreme Court of Israel in the name of several opposition movements.

Yesh Atid denounced what it called "a decision based on flagrant conflict of interest".

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, an NGO, also appealed what it said was "an unlawful decision... posing a real risk to the national security of the State of Israel".

The separate legal appeals came after the government fired Bar in the early hours of Friday.

Netanyahu has cited an "ongoing lack of trust" in him.

The Shin Bet chief's dismissal was to have been effective before April 10, making him the country's first domestic intelligence agency chief to be fired.

Bar was appointed by the previous Israeli government that briefly kept Netanyahu from power between June 2021 and December 2022.

The attorney general, a critic of Netanyahu, is also under government scrutiny.

Netanyahu's office, citing a cabinet meeting agenda, said the government would meet on Sunday for a no confidence vote on Baharav-Miara, "due to her inappropriate behaviour and due to significant and prolonged differences between the government and the government's legal adviser."

- 'Qatargate' -

Thousands of Israelis braved cold and rainy weather on Thursday night to protest the moves against Bar and Baharav-Miara, demonstrating outside parliament and Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem.

Some spoke of a threat to democracy from Netanyahu's policies.

The opposition appeal highlighted what critics see as the two main reasons why Netanyahu moved against Bar.

The first was his criticism of the government over the security failure that allowed Hamas's attack to become the deadliest day in Israel's history.

The second was what Israeli media have dubbed "Qatargate" but which Netanyahu's office has dismissed as "fake news".

The decision to sack Bar came "as Israel's Security Agency is currently investigating the prime minister's close associates... on suspicion of receiving money from entities directly linked to and acting on behalf of the State of Qatar", the opposition appeal read.

In a letter made public late on Thursday, Bar described his dismissal as motivated by Netanyahu's "personal interests".

Friday's appeal also mentioned that Bar's dismissal took place after a Shin Bet investigation highlighting, according to the plaintiffs, "that the political leadership bears responsibility for the October 7 disaster".

In a video published Thursday, President Isaac Herzog deplored the government's "controversial moves" that "deepened divisions" while Israel is still at war in the Gaza Strip.

The tensions come against the backdrop of new Israeli attacks on Gaza since Tuesday and the reintegration into the government of one of Israel's far-right figures, Itamar Ben Gvir.

He had resigned as national security minister to protest the ceasefire with Hamas that took effect on January 19.

(A.Moore--TAG)