On Friday, the Israeli Cabinet dismissed Ronen Bar, the chief of Shin Bet, marking the first time in Israel’s history that a prime minister has removed the head of the country’s internal security agency.

Bar had been part of the Israeli negotiating team that brokered a ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and secured the release of hostages in January. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later removed him from the talks. Since then, the new team has been unable to agree with Hamas. Bar’s dismissal comes as Shin Bet investigates Netanyahu’s aides over allegations of accepting bribes from Qatari officials. Meanwhile, Netanyahu himself is also facing a corruption trial.

Ronen Bar did not attend the government meeting where he was dismissed. Instead, he sent a strongly worded letter, calling his removal illegal and accusing the decision-makers of having “fundamentally flawed” motives. The case is expected to reach the Supreme Court. Bar’s firing comes at a time when Israeli society is deeply polarised. Under Netanyahu’s current government, the most right-wing in the country’s history, extremist elements have gained influence and Netanyahu has consolidated power around himself. If Bar’s dismissal is challenged in court, it could further escalate tensions, as Netanyahu’s supporters have long accused the judiciary of interfering in government affairs. Following the decision, a spokesperson for Netanyahu issued a statement blaming Bar for the October 7 attack.

The spokesperson stated, “If Ronen Bar had carried out his role as he is currently clinging to his seat, we would not have reached October 7.”

According to the spokesperson, “Ronen had the opportunity to retire with honour after his searing failure on October 7, as the outgoing Chief of Staff did. But Ronen Bar preferred not to attend the government meeting dealing with his case simply because he was afraid of giving answers and especially of answering one question: Why, after you knew about the Hamas attack many hours before it happened, did you do nothing and did not call the Prime Minister - something that would have prevented the disaster?”.

In his response, Ronen Bar strongly criticised the government's “unfounded claims that are nothing more than a cover for completely different, extraneous and fundamentally invalid motives designed to disrupt the ability of the Shin Bet to fulfil its role”,  The Times of Israel reported. Bar criticised Netanyahu for taking actions that weaken the country “both internally and against its enemies.” He stated that while he and Netanyahu had worked together on the ceasefire and hostage deal in January, there was no justification for Netanyahu to claim that trust between them was lacking, “except if the real intention, which I apparently failed to understand, was to negotiate without reaching a deal.” He also remarked that the decision to remove him and Mossad chief David Barnea from the negotiating team “harmed the team and did not advance the release at all.”