Israel's top court blocks Netanyahu's attempt to fire internal security chief

Supreme Court rules Shin Bet boss Ronen Bar must remain in post until April 20

Ronen Bar, chief of the Shin Bet, at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. AFP

Benjamin Netanyahu’s political travails continued after Israel’s highest court ruled a top security official must stay in place despite the government firing him, prolonging yet another battle between the Prime Minister, the judiciary and a protest movement.

After a stormy 11-hour hearing, during which members of the government had to be removed from the public galleries for disrupting proceedings, the Supreme Court issued an interim injunction that Ronen Bar should remain chief of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency. It gave the government and the Attorney General, vilified by many in the ruling coalition, until April 20 to find a solution.

Judges objected to the procedures followed to sack Mr Bar and supported the Attorney General’s contention that an advisory committee should be consulted before his dismissal. There are fears the decision could lead to a constitutional crisis if Mr Netanyahu does not abide by the ruling.

Mr Netanyahu’s office described the ruling as “puzzling”, shortly after it was announced on Tuesday evening. “It is unthinkable that the Israeli government would be prevented from removing a failed Shin Bet head from office simply because an investigation has been opened that is not related to any of the ministers,” a statement from the office said.

Hearings on Netanyahu’s attempt to sack spy chief closed to the public after disruptions

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Mr Netanyahu insists he fired Mr Bar over a lack of trust in his ability. Critics say it was done for political reasons, in particular Shin Bet’s investigation into whether members of the Prime Minister’s staff accepted money from Qatar while he was in office. The allegation is highly controversial given Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group whose political leaders are based in Qatar.

Mr Bar is also in favour of a state commission of an inquiry into the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, that triggered the war, a suggestion Mr Netanyahu has consistently opposed. There are also reports that Mr Bar refused Mr Netanyahu's request to help him delay giving testimony in his trial on corruption charges.

Protesters have turned out in their thousands to oppose Mr Netanyahu's firing of Mr Bar, as well as to call for the government to prioritise the release of hostages in Gaza who were seized during the October 7 attack.

Mr Netanyahu’s coalition has been in a battle with the country’s judiciary since it came into office in December 2022. His government's plans to radically overhaul the judicial system – which it said had become too powerful and undemocratic – triggered mass protests across the country in the months before the Hamas attack. Critics said weakening the legal system in such a manner would end Israeli democracy by destroying the only real check on government power.