Shin Bet Chief Resigns Amid Netanyahu Dispute

Ronen Bar, chief of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service, has announced he will step down on June 15, following escalating tensions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bar’s resignation follows Netanyahu’s attempt to fire him over alleged failures in preventing the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which left 1,200 Israelis dead, as well as accusations that Bar politicized the agency and refused to show personal loyalty to the prime minister. The Supreme Court temporarily blocked Netanyahu’s dismissal of Bar, resulting in a constitutional standoff that intensified political turmoil. Bar accepted responsibility for failing to provide early warning of the attack but argued his ouster was meant to stop investigations into both the attack and Netanyahu’s corruption charges. His resignation aims to facilitate an orderly transition and defuse the ongoing conflict with Netanyahu. The move also relieves the Supreme Court from issuing a potentially divisive ruling.