ADVERTISEMENTThe head of Israel’s domestic intelligence service has announced his resignation over the agency’s failure to warn of the deadly 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said he will step down on 15 June, following a dispute with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who attempted to oust him last month.
Bar made the announcement on Monday at a memorial event for fallen Shin Bet soldiers.
«After years on many fronts, one night, on the southern front, the skies came down,» Bar said in reference to the attack, which killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. «All systems collapsed. The Shin Bet also failed to give a warning.»
Everyone who failed to stop the attack should bow their heads «in humility before the murdered, the dead, the wounded, the kidnapped and their families and act accordingly», he said at the event.
Netanyahu attempted to fire Bar last month over what he said was a crisis of confidence surrounding Hamas’ attack.
But the move caused uproar domestically because the Shin Bet is probing ties between Netanyahu’s office and Qatar, a mediator between Hamas and Israel over the Gaza war.
The Shin Bet is looking into allegations that close advisers of Netanyahu acted as paid consultants for Qatar — which does not have full diplomatic relations with Israel — while also working for the prime minister. Netanyahu has not been directly implicated in the investigation.
Israel’s Supreme Court froze the firing of Bar following multiple legal challenges against the move and called on the sides to reach a compromise.
In his address on Monday, Bar said the court proceedings are «not about my personal case but about the independence of the next heads of the Shin Bet».
Legal battle
Bar filed a document with the Supreme Court last week that accused Netanyahu of trying to exploit the power of the Shin Bet for political and personal gain.
Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that a «deep state» of civil servants and unelected judges is out to topple him. Civil society organisations say the Shin Bet chief is meant to be an independent figure and fear that Bar’s departure will pave the way for the prime minister to appoint an ally to the sensitive post.
The Shin Bet is responsible for monitoring Palestinian militant groups, and Bar has previously acknowledged his agency’s failures in preventing Hamas’ 7 October attack.
Netanyahu has blamed the failures on the army and security agencies and repeatedly resisted calls for an official state commission of inquiry.
Bar is one of several senior Israeli security figures to resign or be dismissed in the aftermath of the Hamas attack — including the former defence minister and army chief.
ADVERTISEMENTThis month, Netanyahu moved to name a former navy commander as the new Shin Bet chief. The appointment was cancelled less than 24 hours later after it became known that the nominee had participated in anti-government protests.
