Israel spy chief Ronen Bar announces resignation after a long-drawn feud with Benjamin Netanyahu 

Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, has announced he will step down in June, bringing to a close months of intense conflict with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that had pushed Israel to the edge of a constitutional crisis.

 

Speaking at a Shin Bet memorial event yesterday, Bar confirmed that he would leave office on June 15, after 35 years of service. He said the decision was made to allow an orderly process for appointing a permanent successor and for a professional handover. In his speech, Bar accepted personal responsibility for the agency’s failures ahead of Hamas’s devastating October 2023 assault. "In one night, on the southern front, the sky fell. All systems collapsed. The Shin Bet also failed to provide a warning," he said.

 

Bar’s announcement appears to offer a resolution to an unusually public and bitter dispute with Netanyahu, though it remains uncertain whether he will be allowed to serve until his stated retirement date. The Israeli cabinet voted unanimously to dismiss Bar on March 21, with the decision scheduled to take effect on April 10. However, the Supreme Court intervened on Bar’s appeal and froze the dismissal, prompting outrage among Netanyahu and his right-wing allies, who continue to explore avenues to force Bar’s early removal.

 

The confrontation between Bar and Netanyahu erupted amid ongoing Shin Bet investigations into Netanyahu’s aides for alleged misconduct in dealings with Qatar. The timing of Bar’s firing, just as these probes advanced, was widely perceived as politically motivated. Netanyahu, who is already standing trial for multiple corruption charges, denies any wrongdoing and insists Bar’s dismissal stemmed from a loss of confidence in his leadership.

 

In a 31-page affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court last week, Bar alleged that Netanyahu had demanded his personal loyalty above the rule of law, even pressing him to surveil anti-government demonstrators and delay Netanyahu’s own court testimony. Bar further claimed the Prime Minister expected the Shin Bet to side with him over the Supreme Court in the event of a constitutional crisis. 

 

Netanyahu, in a separate sworn statement, rejected these accusations and reiterated claims of a "deep state" conspiracy aimed at undermining democratically elected leaders. The relationship between Bar, a former special forces soldier with degrees from Tel Aviv and Harvard universities, and Netanyahu deteriorated further after Shin Bet published a report in March acknowledging security failures ahead of the Hamas attack, while also criticising Netanyahu’s policies which, it said, had enabled Hamas to strengthen its position in Gaza. Critics argue that Bar’s dismissal was an attempt by Netanyahu to consolidate control over the security apparatus and suppress investigations that might implicate his close associates.

 

Bar authorised two separate investigations into Netanyahu’s aides, including allegations of illicit payments from Qatar to promote Qatari interests in Israel, at a time when Qatar was providing significant financial support to Hamas. These investigations have been cited as key motivations behind Netanyahu’s desire to remove him. Despite the Prime Minister's denials, Bar insisted that his firing was politically, not professionally, motivated. "To this day, the reason for my firing is not clear to me," Bar wrote in his affidavit. "But... it was not rooted in any professional metric, but out of an expectation by Netanyahu that I would be personally loyal to him."

 

Bar’s decision to step down has spared the Supreme Court from issuing a divisive ruling that could have further inflamed Israel’s already fraught political atmosphere. At yesterday’s meeting, Bar expressed hope that the Court would still rule in a way that would protect the independence of future agency heads.

 

The Bar controversy reflects a broader and ongoing domestic crisis within Israel, pitting Netanyahu’s hard-line nationalist supporters against liberal Israelis concerned about the erosion of judicial independence and democratic norms. The October 2023 attack, in which Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and abducted 250 more, and Israel’s retaliation in Gaza, where more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, have only deepened political fissures within the Jewish state.

 

While Bar has accepted his share of responsibility for the intelligence failures, Netanyahu has largely deflected blame, and has shown remarkable political skills to survive. Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition, praised Bar’s resignation while sharply criticising Netanyahu. "Of those responsible for the greatest failure in the history of the country, only one remains, clinging to the chair," he said.

 

Bar was appointed in 2021 by then-prime minister Naftali Bennett and was originally expected to serve a five-year term. Friends and associates have said he delayed his departure to assist efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza and to shield the Shin Bet from political interference.

 

In his parting remarks, Bar emphasised the need to preserve the independence of Israel’s security services. "Israel must draw a clear line between trust and loyalty," he said. "Loyalty must always be to the state, its values, and its laws–never to individuals."

Middle East