Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced it will begin interviewing candidates to replace Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Wednesday. The decision follows a High Court ruling that extended a freeze on Bar’s dismissal but allowed Netanyahu to seek a successor.
The court rejected Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s request to prevent the government from appointing an interim chief. However, Netanyahu cannot formally remove Bar at this stage. The government voted last week to oust him, citing a loss of trust following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, which killed 1,200 people and sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
Baharav-Miara warned that Bar’s removal faces legal challenges, particularly given an ongoing Shin Bet investigation into alleged ties between Netanyahu’s aides and Qatar, a Hamas backer. The government insists the dismissal was unrelated to the probe and claims it cannot function with a security chief it does not trust.
The court has scheduled an April 8 hearing on petitions opposing Bar’s dismissal, filed by opposition parties and NGOs. Meanwhile, Bar has vowed to stay in his role until all hostages are returned from Gaza and an official inquiry into the October 7 attack is established—something the government opposes.
Bar’s predecessors warn that appointing a Netanyahu loyalist to lead the Shin Bet could undermine Israel’s democracy.
