A claim made by the head of Israel’s internal security agency that he was fired for political reasons has been dismissed by Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu as “total lies”.
Mr Netanyahu told the high court in Israel in an affidavit that the allegation he had asked the agency, Shin Bet, to operate against non-violent and legitimate political protests was a complete lie.
He also said he never asked the agency’s director, Ronen Bar, to produce a document stipulating that Mr Netanyahu could not testify in his ongoing corruption trial due to security concerns.
The arguments were part of an affidavit submitted by Mr Netanyahu to the court, which is considering petitions against the cabinet’s decision to fire Mr Bar – who is contesting his dismissal and had submitted an affidavit to the court last week – after the government said it no longer had confidence in the senior intelligence chief.
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Much of Mr Netanyahu’s affidavit was devoted to the intelligence failures around the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, noting that Mr Bar had failed to alert him in the early hours of that fateful Saturday. Unlike Mr Netanyahu, Mr Bar has already admitted full responsibility for the intelligence failures and says he will step down early.
Responding to the affidavit presented by Mr Netanyahu, Mr Bar said it was rife with inaccuracies, tendentious quotes and half-truths with the clear goal of taking things out of context and to change reality.
Ministers stepped up their attacks on Mr Bar following Mr Netanyahu’s submission of his affidavit. “Netanyahu presented in his affidavit an indictment of unparalleled gravity against Bar,” education minister Yoav Kisch said. “Bar’s lies in his affidavit, his attempts to deceive and to cheat are unforgivable. His behaviour is a clear danger to Israel’s security. The high court must immediately order Bar’s removal. There is no other way.”
[ Affidavit from Shin Bet chief alleges Binyamin Netanyahu requested illegal actions ]
Opposition leader Yair Lapid linked the campaign against Mr Bar to Mr Netanyahu’s concerns over the so-called Qatargate affair, in which Shin Bet and police are investigating allegations of links between senior Netanyahu aides and Qatar. “I trust the high court to rule who is a liar and who is telling the truth,” Mr Lapid said.
The prevailing assessment is that the court will not rule on the conflicting accounts that were presented by the prime minister and Mr Bar in their affidavits, but will instead focus on the way in which Mr Bar was fired and the fact that a key senior appointment selection committee was not part of the process.
But as the justices pondered their next move there was a clear threat from Mr Netanyahu, who told government ministers: “If the high court overturns the dismissal we will convene and decide what to do about it.”
