Embattled Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar says he will step down on June 15, nearly three months after Israel’s government voted for the first time ever to dismiss the head of the security agency.
“My love for the homeland and my loyalty to the state are the foundation of every decision I have made in my professional life,” Bar said at an event memorializing fallen Shin Bet agents. “So it is tonight as well.”
In his speech, Bar accepted responsibility for the failures of the Shin Bet on October 7. “After years on many fronts, in one night, on the southern front, the sky fell. All systems collapsed. The Shin Bet also failed to provide a warning,” he said in his speech in Tel Aviv. Bar explained that part of his reason for stepping down was “in order to allow an orderly process” of picking a successor.
But it’s unclear if Bar’s tenure will last that long. On March 21, the Israeli cabinet unanimously voted to dismiss Bar from his position as the head of the Israel Security Agency, commonly known as the Shin Bet.
Bar’s dismissal was to take effect on April 10, but Israel’s High Court froze the firing, enraging Netanyahu and his right-wing allies, who can still mount an effort to fire Bar before the self-announced retirement date.
Bar has been locked in a bitter feud with Netanyahu and members of his right-wing government. Ministers accuse him of politically motivated investigations designed to discredit the government. The acrimony soared following the QatarGate affair earlier this year, in which a Shin Bet investigation ensnared two close associates of Israel’s long-time leader.
Last week, Bar said in a sworn affidavit that Netanyahu expected “personal loyalty.”
“It was made clear to me that in the event of a constitutional crisis, I would be expected to obey the prime minister rather than the Supreme Court,” Bar said.
In response, Netanyahu accused Bar of filing a “false affidavit,’ asserting that he was fired because he failed in his duty.
Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Minister of National Security who has long called for Bar’s firing, said on social media, “Good riddance.”
Bar received a show of support from opposition politicians. Yair Lapid, the head of the opposition, released a statement saying, “Ronen Bar made the right and honorable decision. This is what taking responsibility looks like.”
The leader of the Democrats party, Yair Golan, said on social media, “Netanyahu, now it’s your turn.”