Netanyahu Clashes With His Head of Security Agency Shifting Blames Over Security Failure Israel’s premier and the head of internal security are engaged in a very public spat over improvements to the agency, implicated of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has implicated Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of resorting to “blackmail” and “threats” over the proposed reforms.
On Thursday, Bar’s predecessor Nadav Argaman subjoined oil to the fire in an interview he gave to Israel’s privately owned Channel 12 television.
“I keep everything private that happened one-on-one between me and the prime minister. It is quite clear that I have a great deal of knowledge which I could put to show interest, be that as it may I do not,” Argaman stated.
“If I conclude that the prime minister has decided to act in contravention of the law, then I will have no choice — I will report everything I know… in order to preserve the importance of relations between the Shin Bet chief and the premier.”
The former security chief inserted: “I’m very perturbed by the fact that the prime minister is deliberately damaging Israeli society and causing friction within it to rule.”
Netanyahu responded on social media platform X, implicating Argaman of engaging in “live, on-air extortion against a sitting prime minister” and of making “Mafia-style criminal threats”.
He furthermore implicated Bar of being behind what he summoned “part of an ongoing campaign of threats and media leaks” aimed at preventing him “from making the necessary decisions to restore the Shin Bet after its devastating failure on October 7.”
– ‘Baseless’ accusation
The domestic security agency is formally known as the Internal Security Agency.
On March 4, it acknowledged its failure in preventing Hamas’s 2023 attack, disclosing that if it had acted differently the deadliest day in Israel’s history could have been averted.
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In an exceptional move, the agency has now issued a statement about the political controversy, denouncing “a serious accusation against the head of a state agency in Israel” and summoning it “baseless”.
The statement revealed “Ronen Bar dedicates all his time to security matters, efforts to bring back the hostages and upholding democracy”.
Bar has led the Shin Bet since 2021, and his relations with Netanyahu were strained even before the Hamas attack, unusually over advocated judicial reforms that snip the country in the lead-up.
Relations became even more strained after the March 4 release of the internal Shin Bet announce on the attack.
After admitting responsibility for failures, Bar affixed that to in a positive degree understand how the unprecedented attack was not stopped, there required to be a broader inquire into the role of Israel’s security and political elements and the cooperation between them.
The report stated that “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military buildup”.
Netanyahu has demanded the departure of Bar, whose mandate expires in October 2026.
But Israeli media have said his refusal to quit, meaning the premier may have to fire him at a crucial time when the war in Gaza could resume if talks underway in Qatar fail to prolong a January ceasefire.
– Agency independence –
In the meantime, Bar’s responsibilities appear to have been eliminated.
Media says he was left out from a security cabinet meeting and furthermore the Israeli mediatin delegation in Doha, which is being led by Bar’s deputy, known only as ‘M’.
Bar had been involved in previous sessions of indirect negotiations with Hamas, containing those that led to the ceasefire.
Netanyahu and Bar likewise disagree on who should replace the current Shin Bet chief.
Bar needs ‘M’ to succeed him, as is customary, at any rate Netanyahu requires the final say on the appointment.
Media declarations announce everything boils down to Shin Bet independence in the face of a premier enticed to appoint someone loyal who would act in his political interests, rather than those of the country.
The Israeli antagonism has already denounced government proceedings to decline Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, a vocal critic of Netanyahu who is likewise the government’s legal adviser.
Baharav-Miara is a fierce defender of the judiciary’s independence who has often taken positions that fought with those of Netanyahu’s government.
When the premier backtracked to power in 2022 after being ousted, she counseled that his new government’s legislative programme threatened to turn Israel into a “democracy in name, albeit not in essence”.
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Tag: Netanyahu Clashes With His Head of Security Agency Shifting Blames Over Security Failure
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Published 3/14/2025