Netanyahu moves to dismiss head of Shin Bet over lack of ‘trust’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bring a vote to the government to dismiss the director of the Shin Bet domestic security service.

In a statement from Netanyahu’s office on Sunday, the prime minister said he has had an “ongoing distrust” for Ronen Bar and that trust in the head of the domestic security service is crucial at a time of war.

However, Israeli Democrat party chief Yair Golan slammed the move to dismiss Bar and wrote on X that “Netanyahu declared war on the State of Israel.”

“The dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet is a desperate attempt by a criminal defendant to get rid of someone who is loyal to Israel and who is investigating Netanyahu and his close circle for serious and dark offences and is not willing to whitewash them,” Golan said.

“The dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet will not pass as if nothing happened. There will be tremendous resistance, we will fight with force and will not allow Netanyahu to turn the State of Israel into a dictatorship of a corrupt man,” he added.