Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surprised to try to remove the head of the country’s internal intelligence agency, Shin Bet. The movement is another chapter of an offensive that has lasted two years to increase government control over different state organs.
The announcement generated strong reactions on Monday (17), with requests for mass protests and criticism from business leaders and attorney general, Gali Baharav-iara. The situation recalls the protests of 2023, when Netanyahu’s attempt to reduce the power of supervisory bodies led to a social crisis.
Voting in the office on the resignation of Ronen Bar, head of Shin Bet, was scheduled for Wednesday (19). The episode occurs weeks after the government announced that it also plans to dismiss Baharav-Himiara and amid a new attempt in Parliament to grant the most influence on the choice of Supreme Court judges.
These initiatives resurrect the controversial judicial reform project of 2023, which intended to reduce the power of the judiciary and independent bodies. The plan generated months of protests and division in the country, being suspended only after the Hamas attack to Israel in October 2023, which revived a sense of national unity. With the current fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, political tensions grow again.
“The resignation of Shin Bet’s head should not be seen in isolation,” said Amichai Cohen, professor of law and researcher at the Israeli Institute of Democracy. “It is part of a greater tendency of weakening of independent institutions and power concentration in the executive.”
Netanyahu’s attempt to dismiss Bar already mobilizes the opposition and civil groups, which called protests for Wednesday in front of the government’s headquarters. A group of 300 entrepreneurs also issued a joint statement criticizing the decision.
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Attorney General warned that Netanyahu cannot proceed with dismissal without the legality of the act being analyzed, raising the risk of a constitutional impasse if the Prime Minister ignores the recommendation. Netanyahu said he will hear the analysis before the vote, but criticized Baharav-himara’s position, classifying it as “a dangerous weakening of government authority.”
The impasse recalls the crisis of 2023, when major demonstrations and a general strike paralyzed the country in response to Netanyahu’s attempt to weaken the judiciary.
Dispute between Netanyahu and the Shin Bet
The backdrop of the bar’s resignation attempt includes a personal dispute with Netanyahu. Shin Bet chief annoyed the prime minister by investigating members of his government for alleged leaks of secret documents and calls with Qatar, a country that maintains ties with Hamas. Netanyahu denies any irregularity, while the Government of Qatar did not comment on the case.
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The crisis got worse after the former Shin Bet chief, Nadav Argaman, to rare an interview last week suggesting that he could disclose new accusations against Netanyahu if he violated the law. For the prime minister, this was “a direct threat,” according to former advisers.
“With a submissive coalition full of flatterers, Netanyahu is dismantling all Israel’s control bodies,” Barak Seri wrote in the Maariv newspaper.
The dispute for the future of Israel
Netanyahu’s attempt to consolidate power reflects a broader clash between his right -wing coalition and the sectors that defend the independence of Israeli institutions. His government is made up of ultra -portodox religious parties, who seek to maintain privileges, and by groups of settlers who want to expand settlements in the West Bank and further reduce Palestinian rights.
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For years, these sectors have seen the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and the security agencies as obstacles to their projects.
These institutions have already made decisions that have limited ultra -portodox privileges, barred certain settlers’ initiatives and led Netanyahu to trial for corruption – a process in which he denies the accusations.
Government allies argue that weakening the judiciary and control bodies strengthens democracy, as it would give more power to elected legislators. They also argue that Bar should resign because he did not avoid Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, which began the Israel-Hamas war.
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“Shin Bet has interfered on topics such as governance, values and democracy,” wrote Eithan Orkibi in the Israel Hayom newspaper, aligned with the government. “Now the agency will be returned to its technical role.”
The opposition warns that Netanyahu uses the pretext of security to deepen changes that will make Israel a less democratic and more authoritarian country. In addition, they question why Bar should be held responsible for the Hamas attack, but Netanyahu not.
“The plan is to turn Israel into something that has never been since its foundation,” Seri wrote at Maariv.
Tense military scenario
Meanwhile, the military situation remains volatile. The Israeli army reported attacked targets in Gaza to prevent militants from burying explosives. Hamas states that the dead were civilians. Despite the formal ceasefire, negotiations to consolidate the truce are locked, and Israel maintains regular attacks on alleged military targets. .
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