Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his plan to sack Shin Bet director Ronen Bar over the October 7 failure to prevent the Hamas attack.
Earlier, the internal security agency admitted to failures ahead of the October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of nearly 1200 people, with 250 more taken as hostages.
“Due to ongoing lack of trust, I have decided to bring a proposal to the government to end the tenure of the Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
He argued that “this step is crucial to restore the organisation, to achieve all of our war objectives, and to prevent the next tragedy.”
The prime minister accused Bar of leading “an ongoing campaign of threats and media leaks” aimed at preventing him from “making the necessary decisions to restore the Shin Bet after its devastating failure on October 7.”
The announcement came after a recent internal Shin Bet report acknowledging that the agency had committed a fatal error over threats posed by Hamas.
The agency admitted it failed to act on warning signs and said the massacre “could have been prevented” if different steps had been taken before and on the night of the attack.
Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has challenged Netanyahu’s move, warning that the prime minister may not have the legal authority to dismiss the security chief.
While government officials praised the decision as overdue, opposition leaders condemned it as undemocratic, accusing Netanyahu of prioritising personal interests over national security.
Bar, who has led Shin Bet since 2021, rejected Netanyahu’s attempt to remove him, saying on Sunday that his duties require him to stay due to ongoing security concerns, hostage negotiations, and sensitive investigations.
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He blamed the government for the October 7 attack, claiming that its long-standing policy on Gaza ignored the agency’s warnings. He added that his loyalty is to the Israeli public, not to fulfilling a “personal duty of trust” to the prime minister.
Netanyahu also removed Bar and Mossad chief David Barnea from ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, accusing them of leaking details and taking a soft stance.
Shin Bet and Netanyahu have been in a long-standing dispute as it had ordered a probe against Netanyahu over his alleged lobbying attempts involving his aides on behalf of Qatar.
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