Netanyahu says AG ‘abusing’ her authority by opposing Shin Bet chief’s firing

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of abusing her authority after she told him that he cannot proceed with the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar unless a “factual and legal basis” for doing so can be established.

It is not clear when the cabinet will hold a vote on Bar’s dismissal. Netanyahu wanted to move up the cabinet meeting from Wednesday to Tuesday, but Hebrew media reported that as of late Monday night, ministers had yet to receive a directive to convene on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Haaretz daily reported that the offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara were examining whether the government needs approval from a commission that vets candidates for some of the country’s key civil service positions before firing Bar, in what could delay the move by weeks.

A 2016 cabinet decision states that the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee must sign off on the firing of any appointment that it previously approved. However, the law creating the Shin Bet — which predates that decision — gives the government the power to terminate the agency chief’s tenure before it expires. Netanyahu and Baharav-Miara’s offices were said to be looking into which takes precedence.

Haaretz cited unnamed legal sources who say it is unclear whether the government would be able to advance the firing if the committee were to vote against it, adding that such a conclusion from the commission would further boost the chances of the High Court of Justice overturning the decision.

In a letter to Baharav-Miara that Netanyahu posted to X on Monday evening, the premier reiterated it is under his “exclusive authority” to fire the Shin Bet chief, adding that suggesting by otherwise, Baharav-Miara is engaging in “dangerous heresy.”

He called Baharav-Miara’s warning on Sunday that the process of firing Bar might be “tainted by illegality and conflict of interest” “a complete inversion of justice.”

Netanyahu also claimed that the attorney general’s decision to open a probe last month into alleged illicit ties between his aides and Qatar was politically motivated.

“Your instructions to open a series of investigations against the prime minister’s staff… are an abuse of your authority and an improper practice that has already become a method, the whole purpose of which is to deny authority to the political echelon,” the prime minister charged.

Netanyahu wrote that “even the Israel Police don’t understand” why senior members of his office are being investigated for, among other things, alleged ties to Qatar.

“The decision to end the Shin Bet chief’s term was not made against the backdrop of the investigation,” Netanyahu said. “On the contrary, the ‘investigation’ was born after the possibility of dismissing him arose and was leaked to the media.”

Shin Bet Oct. 7 probe included annex blaming PM

Channel 12 reported Monday that an annex to the Shin Bet’s internal probe of its own October 7 failures, which has not been published but was given to Netanyahu, directly tied the prime minister and his policies to the catastrophe.

The TV report suggested that the annex, which it said amounts to an “astounding indictment” of Netanyahu and his policy of “buying quiet” in Gaza through the facilitation of Qatari payments to the Hamas-run Strip, constitutes a “possible further reason” why the prime minister is firing Bar.

The Prime Minister’s Office responded to the report, calling the allegation of Netanyahu’s responsibility for the disaster “another complete lie by the outgoing head of the Shin Bet, who is trying to deflect attention from his October 7 failures.”

“In security discussions held in 2023, all the security [services] assessed that Hamas was deterred, and recommended a policy of economic incentives,” the PMO said.

“The prime minister warned about efforts by groups in the region to lead to escalation, and ordered preparations for targeted strikes on Hamas leaders,” the statement added.

Protests moved to Tuesday

Organizers said Monday night, following initial news that the vote on firing Bar had been moved up, that they too have rearranged their plans.

Instead of the day-long protests in Jerusalem on Wednesday that were initially planned, demonstrators will set out on a march from the Harel junction outside of Jerusalem at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

Protesters will reach the Prime Minister’s Office at 6:30 p.m. and will remain there overnight and throughout the day on Wednesday.

A large demonstration will also be held at Habimah Square in Tel Aviv, with the participation of former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, former deputy chief of the Shin Bet Roni Alsheich, and former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo.

It’s unclear whether these plans might change if the vote on ousting Bar is pushed off.

On Monday, the faculty at Tel Aviv University announced it will hold a 2-hour strike on Wednesday, from noon until 2 p.m.

The TAU announcement came after Ze’ev Degani, principal of the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium high school in Tel Aviv, told parents he would cancel classes on Wednesday and encourage students to go to Jerusalem to protest.

Several hours after the principal’s announcement, the Education Ministry’s director-general, Meir Shimoni, summoned Degani to a meeting in the ministry’s Tel Aviv office at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the same time as the protest, Ynet reported.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, meanwhile, has filed a petition with the High Court of Justice against Bar’s firing, Channel 13 reported Monday.

The organization asked that the court issue an interim order to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from convening his cabinet to vote on Bar’s dismissal.

The petition is the first of several that are expected to be lodged with the High Court in the coming days.

Earlier Monday, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that the opposition parties will also petition the court over Bar’s ouster and were working together “to stop this reckless act.”

Former police chief: PM’s decision ‘tainted’ by politics

Roni Alsheich, scheduled to speak at a protest in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, also spoke out in a Channel 12 interview Monday against Netanyahu’s move to fire Bar, though he said the prime minister had a legal right to do so.

“We are in a democratic country,” Alsheich told Channel 12. “It cannot be tainted, or done for personal reasons. It must be based only on relevant considerations.”

He said he does not believe that the Shin Bet’s part in the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught is the reason for Netanyahu’s decision to fire Bar, as the security chief had already decided to resign in due course.

Instead, Alsheich pointed to the timing of Netanyahu’s announcement, suggesting it had more to do with the so-called “Qatar-gate” investigation than with anything else.

“It can’t be that this is how one acts in a democratic country,” Alsheich said.

Alsheich served as Israel Police chief from 2015 until 2018. Prior to that, he was the deputy head of the Shin Bet, where he oversaw the police investigations into Netanyahu that concluded with an indictment against the premier on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.