Israeli intelligence director Ronen Bar told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that his demand for "personal loyalty" is misguided, after Netanyahu announced he will dismiss him due to "growing distrust" between the two.
“The Shin Bet director’s duty of trust is, first and foremost, to the citizens of Israel. The expectation of personal loyalty from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fundamentally flawed and directly contrary to Shin Bet law,” Bar said in a lengthy statement reported by the Israeli press and on X.
Bar also referred to the findings of a Shin Bet investigation announced on the 4th, which determined that Qatar's funding of Hamas's military wing—without Israeli intervention, despite its knowledge—as well as the treatment of Palestinian terrorist prisoners and the internal division in the country over Netanyahu-sponsored judicial reform, laid the groundwork for the October 7 attack.
“The Shin Bet, under my leadership, conducted a thorough investigation that revealed intelligence and internal process failures on October 7, the correction of which has already begun,” Bar said today, appearing to reiterate the need for a state commission of inquiry, which Netanyahu opposes.
“The need to question all parties, including government policy and the prime minister, and not just the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet, which conducted an exhaustive self-investigation, is necessary in the interests of public safety,” he said.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu met with Bar on Sunday to announce that he will submit a formal proposal for his dismissal to the government's security cabinet this week. In a subsequent video message, the president cited "growing distrust" as the main reason for this decision.
"A mistrust that has grown over time," Netanyahu said, before asserting that the dismissal was a "necessary" decision to achieve "war objectives and prevent the next disaster."