Israel’s high court of justice in Jerusalem on Tuesday heard eight petitions against the government’s decision to dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of the country’s internal security agency Shin Bet, as the struggle continues over spheres of influence between the executive and the judiciary.
Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu informed Mr Bar of his intention to fire him on March 16th, citing a “lack of trust” following the Hamas-led attack on Israel of October 7th, 2023. Mr Bar has accepted personal responsibility for the failures related to the attack and has promised to step down early from his position, albeit at an unspecified date.
There was chaos in the courtroom as the session opened in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to disrupt the proceedings. Some parents of soldiers who were killed in the Gaza war, joined by right-wing politicians, shouted that the court had no authority to even discuss Mr Bar’s dismissal. A bereaved father, who was evicted from the courtroom, said if Mr Bar continued in his role, “There will be more security failures, and more bereaved families.”
Supreme court president Yitzhak Amit said no court in the world would allow such a commotion and he ordered the session, which was broadcast live on TV and radio stations, to continue behind closed doors.
The government’s attorney, Zion Amir, said it had complete authority to dismiss who it pleased, arguing that the court process was an illegitimate attempt to transfer the government’s power to the courts. The petitioners, he said, had a political agenda – “there’s no hiding it”.
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“There’s a complete breakdown of trust between the prime minister and the Shin Bet chief,” Mr Amir said. “The mistrust has been building for months. It’s like trying to force a husband and wife to live together. The relationship is over – the structure has collapsed.”
Some of the petitioners focused on Mr Netanyahu’s possible conflict of interest, given an ongoing Shin Bet investigation into the connection between Qatar and some of his senior advisers. Mr Netanyahu has dismissed the “Qatargate” affair as a political witch hunt against him by the “deep state” and said the two aides arrested in the investigation had been taken “hostage”.
Mr Bar submitted a letter on Friday to the high court of justice, stating the push for his dismissal was initiated after he refused Mr Netanyahu’s request that he inform the judges in the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial that Mr Netanyahu should not be allowed to regularly testify in court due to security concerns.
Yael Wiesel, representing some of the petitioners, said no head of Shin Bet had ever been ousted, nor had any senior official of this level in Israel.
The judges hinted that the government failed to adhere to the correct procedures in connection with the dismissal by failing to convene a committee to approve appointments and dismissals.
Justice minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the right-wing government’s judicial overhaul, which opponents claim aims to weaken the judicial branch, said that if the court rules to reinstate Mr Bar, the government should simply refuse to work with him in order to force him out.
The court is expected to rule on the petitions by Thursday.
Most legal experts believe the court will be reluctant to overturn Mr Bar’s dismissal, fearing such a move would provoke an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Instead, they may urge Mr Bar to set a date for stepping down or aim for a solution where the government commits to appointing a successor based on purely professional considerations.
