Netanyahu’s push to fire Israel's domestic security chief sparks an uproar

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's has fired or forced out a string of top officials since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza. The country's domestic security chief is the newest target.

Netanyahu says he is motivated by a crisis of confidence and a need to get rid of officials who failed to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, disaster.

But Netanyahu's many critics say the dismissals are part of a broader campaign aimed at undermining independent government institutions. They say he is doing that to boost his reputation and maintain power while on trial for alleged corruption and facing public pressure to accept his own responsibility for policy failures in the lead-up to Oct. 7.

The announcement by Netanyahu on Sunday that he would seek to fire the director of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, came as the security service investigates ties between Netanyahu advisers and the Gulf state of Qatar.

Israel's attorney general said Sunday that Netanyahu needed to clarify the legal basis for his decision before taking any action, noting that “the role of the Shin Bet is not to serve the personal trust of the prime minister.”

On Monday, Netanyahu shot back with a warning letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, saying she has no authority to intervene in the matter. The dispute adds to growing concerns about the balance of powers in Israel’s government.

Months of tensions preceded Bar’s firing

Tensions between Netanyahu and Bar had been building for months.

Bar, who was appointed to lead the Shin Bet in 2021 by a previous prime minister, accepted responsibility for his agency’s failure to halt the Oct. 7 attack ahead of time. He already has said he planned to step down before the end of his term in late 2026.

But the Shin Bet investigation into its Oct. 7 failures also pointed blame at Netanyahu for formulating a policy that focused on containing Hamas, while ignoring a growing threat.

Bar had been a key player in negotiations to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas. But he and Netanyahu differed on how to proceed. That led Netanyahu to replace him with Cabinet minister Ron Dermer, a Netanyahu confidant. Critics of Netanyahu said the move highlighted a growing tendency by Netanyahu to surround himself with loyalists.

A pair of Shin Bet investigations recently launched against advisers of Netanyahu appeared to be a tipping point.

One is examining a Netanyahu spokesperson who allegedly leaked to a German news outlet classified documents that appeared to give the prime minister political cover in ceasefire negotiations. The other is looking into claims that Qatar reportedly hired close Netanyahu aides to launch a public relations campaign in Israel.

Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, was also the source of millions of dollars in cash sent to Gaza, with Netanyahu's approval. The money, ostensibly meant for poor families, is seen as having helped Hamas bolster its military capabilities ahead of Oct. 7.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good governance group, said Bar’s dismissal while the probes are ongoing raises concerns that the move was made out of “political considerations.”

The blame game over Oct. 7 has begun

If Bar's dismissal is approved by the government, he will become the first Shin Bet chief in Israeli history to be fired. But he will also be just the latest in a series of defense officials to exit under pressure from Netanyahu during the war.

In November, Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, saying he had lost trust in him. Gallant had repeatedly prodded Netanyahu to set out a postwar plan for Gaza.

Gallant, a former top general, was replaced by Israel Katz, a longtime Netanyahu backer with little military experience who then pressured the military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, to step down earlier this month. Halevi's replacement then sacked the military's spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a popular figure with the public who was rebuked by Israeli leaders for commenting on the leaked documents case.

With many top defense officials linked to the Oct. 7 failures out of office, the blame game over the deadliest attack in Israel’s history begins in earnest.

Netanyahu has repeatedly tried to pin responsibility on his security chiefs, saying he was never warned about Hamas’ intentions and was guided by their advice that Hamas was deterred.

Netanyahu has resisted growing calls for a state commission of inquiry that would examine the government policies that led to Hamas’ attacks. Such a commission could directly implicate Netanyahu.

Commentator Nadav Eyal wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily that Netanyahu is “firing the witnesses to his failures leading up to Oct. 7 and, by so doing, is creating for himself a perfect alibi. Anything they say from now on will be because they were fired.”

Netanyahu has been challenging state institutions for years

Bar’s dismissal comes against the backdrop of a yearslong fight by Netanyahu against Israel’s state institutions, which he believes are out to get him.

Since he was indicted for corruption charges in 2019, Netanyahu has lashed out against the police, the judiciary and the media, denying any wrongdoing and accusing them of conspiring in a politically motivated witch hunt.

He took that battle a step further in early 2023. That's when Netanyahu launched a sweeping overhaul of Israel's justice system that he said was meant to weaken the courts and restore power to elected officials. The overhaul sparked mass protests, strikes and threats by military reservists not to serve a country whose democratic fundamentals were being eroded.

Israeli media have reported that many top security officials, including Bar, warned that the internal strife sent a message of weakness to Israel’s enemies. Many critics believe it was a factor in the timing of the Hamas attack.

Another Netanyahu target is Baharav-Miara, the country's attorney general. The dispute over her objections to Netanyahu’s effort to fire Bar is likely to end up in the Supreme Court. With the stage set for a showdown between the judiciary and Netanyahu, his allies have already begun planning for Baharav-Miara’s removal.

In his letter to the attorney general on Monday, Netanyahu accused Baharav-Miara of abusing her authority by approving the investigations into members of his staff.

Netanyahu is surrounding himself with loyalists

The next election is scheduled for late 2026, but Netanyahu’s coalition, propped up by ultranationalist and ultra-religious parties, could collapse prematurely. They face a raft of hurdles -- including over the future of the war in Gaza, the court-mandated draft of ultra-Orthodox men and the state budget.

With his political fortunes stagnating and many Israelis saying he should resign, the longtime Israeli leader — similar to his ally President Donald Trump — is looking to place loyalists in key positions.

That might make implementing his wishes easier, but it will likely deepen opposition to him and complicate his legacy.

Bar, in his response to being dismissed, said his loyalty was to the people of Israel.

“The prime minister’s expectation of a duty of personal loyalty,” he wrote, “is a fundamentally wrong expectation.”