Israel’s domestic spy chief resigns after battle with Netanyahu

In his speech announcing his resignation, Ronen Bar took responsibility for his role in the failure that led to the October 7 attack.

Ronen Bar, chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency, will depart in in mid-June. Picture. Gil Cohen-Magen/AP

The head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, one of the most senior officials blamed for Israel’s failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, said he would resign on Monday after a prolonged public battle with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The announcement by Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet, that he would step down in mid-June, came after Netanyahu tried to fire him last month, a move that triggered a public outcry and a legal challenge in the Supreme Court over whether the prime minister had the authority to make such a move. Netanyahu said he no longer had trust in Bar and has accused him of failing to prevent the Hamas attack.

But under the surface, many in Israel suspected Netanyahu didn’t approve of Bar’s handling of hostage negotiations with Hamas. Bar was seen as being more willing to cut a deal with Hamas to release the hostages, while negotiators have said that Netanyahu drew a harder line.

In his speech announcing his resignation, Bar took responsibility for his role in the failure that led to the October 7 attack.

“The Shin Bet wasn’t complacent,” he said. “And yet we failed. This isn’t our standard.”

Netanyahu hasn’t announced a replacement for Bar.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to fire Ronen Bar last month. Picture: Maya Alleruzzo /AFP

Bar’s departure marks a successful attempt by Netanyahu to push out some of the most powerful voices opposing his handling of the war. In January, Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi stepped down, taking responsibility for the army’s failures on October 7. Halevi also publicly disagreed with Netanyahu’s handling of the war. Netanyahu also fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, another critic.

Other prominent leaders still in power are David Barnea, the head of Israel’s foreign spy service, Mossad, and Netanyahu, who says he won’t step down as long as the war continues.

Netanyahu’s efforts to unseat Bar were viewed by many of his opponents as political. The Shin Bet has been investigating three Netanyahu-linked aides for potentially improper dealings with Qatar.

Netanyahu had portrayed Bar as emblematic of what he called a “deep state” bureaucracy that was trying to undermine him.

The firing spurred public protests, which fell along the same political lines, said Tamar Hermann, a political scientist at the Israel Democracy Institute.

It is not known what will happen next in the Supreme Court case, which revolved around whether Netanyahu had legal cause to dismiss Bar, or was, as Bar alleged, politically motivated. The court case triggered duelling affidavits in which Bar accused Netanyahu of firing him for demanding personal loyalty to him, while Netanyahu accused Bar of being responsible for the October 7 failure.

In a letter to Israel’s cabinet in March, Bar said Netanyahu had no reason to distrust him and implied that the prime minister didn’t want a deal to bring the hostages home and end the war. He wrote that “the claim of supposed distrust has no basis — unless the true intention, which I seemingly failed to understand, was to conduct negotiations without reaching an actual deal.”

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, thanked Bar for his service on Tuesday and said that the “announcement that he will soon end his term as head of the service is the right decision, reflecting the assumption of responsibility.”

Wall Street Journal