Netanyahus urged to release Israel's chief manager in domestic security

Tel Aviv, Israel (AP) -Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has released or forced a number of top officials since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel triggered the war in the Gaza in 2023. The country Interior intelligibility boss is the latest goal.

Netanyahu says he is motivated by a crisis of trust and the need to get rid of civil servants who could not prevent the catastrophe on October 7, 2023.

However, the many critics of Netanyahu say that the layoffs are part of a wider campaign that aims at the undermining of the independent state institutions. You say he does this to strengthen his reputation and power during the maintenance in court for alleged corruption and the public pressure to take his own responsibility for political failure in advance on October 7th.

Netanyahu's announcement on Sunday that he would try to dismiss the director of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, when the security service examined the connections between Netanyahu advisors and the Golf state of Qatar.

The Attorney General Israel said on Sunday that Netanyahu had to clarify the legal basis for his decision before taking measures and found that “the role of the Shin bet is not to serve the prime minister's personal trust”.

On Monday, Netanyahu shot back to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Meara with a warning letter and said she had no authority to intervene in the matter. The dispute contributes to growing concerns regarding the violence of the powers in the Israel government.

Months of the tensions were going ahead of bars

The tensions between Netanyahu and bar had built for months.

Bar, which was appointed head of the Shin bet for a former prime minister in 2021, took over the responsibility for the failure of his agency to stop the attack on October 7 in advance. He already said that he resigned before the end of his term in late 2026.

However, the examination of the Shin -Bet examination on its mistakes on October 7 also blame Netanyahu for the wording of a policy that concentrated on the containment of Hamas and at the same time ignored a growing threat.

Bar was an important player in negotiations on free Israeli hostages of Hamas. But he and Netanyahu differed how he should proceed. This meant that Netanyahu replaced him by cabinet minister Ron Dermer, a confidante of Netanyahu. Netanyahu critics said that the step had emphasized a growing tendency of Netanyahu to surround themselves with loyalists.

Recently against Netanyahu consultants, a few Shin -Bet examinations seemed to be a turning point.

One examines a Netanyahu spokesman who is said to have run to a German news agency Classified documents This seemed to give the prime minister the political cover in ceasefire negotiations. The other examines the claim that Qatar reports that the Netanyahu Aides has hired near Netanyahu to start a PR campaign in Israel.

Qatar, an important agent between Israel and Hamas, was also the source of millions of dollars in bar, which was sent to Gaza with the consent of Netanyahu. The money that is supposedly intended for poor families is helped as Hamas before October 7th to strengthen their military skills.

The movement for the quality government in Israel, a good governance group, said the dismissal of bar, while the probes are ongoing concerns that the move from “political considerations” was carried out.

The guilt game about October 7 has started

If the government is approved by the government, he becomes the first Shin -Bet -Bet boss in Israeli history that is released. But he will be too Only the latest In a number of defense officials to go under pressure from Netanyahu during the war.

In November Netanyahu fired his defense ministerYoav gallant and said he had lost confidence in him. Gallant had repeatedly used Netanyahu to develop a post -war plan for Gaza Strip.

Gallant, a former top general, was replaced by Israel Katz, a long -time Netanyahu supporter with little military experience, which then put the military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, under pressure Return at the beginning of this month. The replacement of Halevi then released the spokesman for the military, counteradm. Daniel Hagari, a popular personality with the public, who was killed by Israeli guides for the comment on the leaked documents.

With many top defense officers who are associated with the failures on October 7, the guilt game about the most fatal attack in the history of Israel begins.

Netanyahu has repeatedly tried to face his security chiefs and said that he was never warned of Hamas' intentions and was carried out by her advice that the Hamas was quenching.

Netanyahu has opposed the growing demands for a state commission of investigation that would investigate government policy that led to Hamas attacks. Such a commission could imply Netanyahu directly.

The commentator Nadav Eyal wrote every day in Yediot Ahronot that Netanyahu “fires the witnesses to his failures until October 7 and thus creates a perfect alibi for himself.

Netanyahu has been calling for state institutions for years

The discharge of bar comes against the background of a long struggle of Netanyahu against the state institutions of Israel, of which he believes they get it.

Since he was charged with allegations of corruption in 2019, Netanyahu has been against the police, the judiciary and the media, refused to do so, and accused them of blurring themselves in a politically motivated witch hunt.

He took this fight one step further in early 2023. Then Netanyahu started A comprehensive overhaul of the Israel justice system The fact that he said should recover the dishes and to restore the powers for chosen civil servants. The overhaul triggered mass protests, strikes and threats from military reservists not to serve no country whose democratic foundations were undermined.

Israeli media have reported that many top security officers, including the bar, warned that the internal dispute has sent a weakness to the enemies of Israel. Many critics believe that it was a factor for the time of the Hamas attack.

Another goal of Netanyahu is Baharav-Meara, the country's Attorney General. The dispute over their objections to Netanyah's efforts to fire the efforts should end in front of the Supreme Court. With the stage for a showdown between the judiciary and Netanyahu, his allies have already started to plan the removal of Baharav-Meara.

In his letter to the Attorney General on Monday, Netanyahu Baharav-Meara accused her authority by approving the investigation into his employees.

Netanyahu surrounds himself with loyalists

The next election is planned for the end of 2026, but the coalition of Netanyahu, which is supported by ultra -nationalist and ultra -religious parties, could collapse prematurely. They stand in front of an area of ​​hurdles-the future of war in Gaza, the judicial draft of ultra-orthodox men and the state budget.

Stagnate with his political assets and said many Israelis that he was supposed to step down, the long -time Israeli guide – similar to him Ally US President Donald Trump – is looking for loyalists in key positions.

That could make it easier to implement his wishes, but it will probably deepen the opposition against him and make its legacy difficult.

In his response to the dismissal, Bar said that his loyalty was the people of Israel.

“The prime minister's expectation according to a duty of personal loyalty,” he wrote, “is a fundamental expectation.”