Israel's Supreme Court on Friday ordered to temporary halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of the country's intelligence chief Ronen Bar. The court said Bar could not be dismissed till his appeal is heard.
The top court's decision came hours after Netanyahu's Cabinet unanimously approved his appeal to fire the head of the Shit Bet internal security service.
Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated tonight in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu's decision to fire the director of the Shin Bet security agency Ronen Bar. Netanyahu's move is perceived as part of his campaign to weaken Israel's democratic institutions pic.twitter.com/rUabk7ZEeI
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) March 18, 2025
The court said it was delaying the firing until an appeal could be heard no later than April 8.
Netanyahu's office said that Bar's dismissal takes effect from April 10 onwards, however, he would be removed if a replacement is found earlier.
As the resistance intensifies, protestors chant "You are zeroes" towards Cabinet members who are discussing the dismissal of Shin Bet Head Ronen Bar at the government compound in Jerusalem.
— USA 4 Israeli Democracy 🎗️ (@USA4ILDemocracy) March 20, 2025
Credit: Orna Kupferman pic.twitter.com/HNBkjS3sVm
The Israel PM had cited a lack of trust in Bar to dismiss him as the intelligence chief.
Bar's sacking has triggered massive protests across Israel. Protesters raised anti-government slogans and accused Netanyahu of destroying the democracy.
Who is Ronen Bar?
Ronen Bar was appointed in October 2021 for a five-year term as the chief of Shin Bet- Israel's domestic intelligence agency.
Bar, 59, a former special forces soldier holds degrees from Tel Aviv and Harvard universities.
Bar served his military service in the Sayeret Matkal, Israel’s elite special forces. Later he ran a bar in Tel Aviv, where he met his wife. He has degrees in political science and philosophy from Tel Aviv University and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard.
After his studies, he joined the Shin Bet and rose steadily through the ranks of its operations division.
Though Shin Bet's priority is counter-terrorism, the service also investigates espionage, manages security clearance for thousands of sensitive posts and has a legal duty to defend Israel's democratic system.
As Shin Bet chief, Bar had accepted his failure in preventing the 2023 Hamas attack and said that he intended to resign.
A Shin Bet report into Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack acknowledged failures by the security agency. But it also criticised the policies of Netanyahu's government that paved the way for the attack.
