TEL AVIV (ISRAEL) (ITALPRESS) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously in favor of firing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Bar’s last day will be April 10, with the cabinet bringing forward his dismissal after initially scheduling it for April 20, although Netanyahu’s office says Bar could leave before then if ministers approve a permanent replacement. The vote marks the first time in Israel’s history that a government has fired the Shin Bet leader. The meeting to approve his dismissal lasted about three and a half hours. Bar did not show up, but sent a letter stating that his dismissal was “entirely tainted by conflicts of interest.”
He also stresses that this is a “fundamentally invalid” attempt to weaken the Shin Bet while it investigates Qatari influence at the prime minister’s office. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara again expressed his opposition to the move. His office had told Netanyahu earlier in the day that the government must obtain a recommendation from an advisory committee before considering Bar’s dismissal.
– IPA Agency photo –
(ITALPRESS).
