Netanyahu Fires Shin Bet Director, Mass Protests Grow

JERUSALEM, THURSDAY – The Israeli Cabinet has decided to dismiss the Director of Israel's Internal Intelligence (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar. According to a report by AFP News Agency, Friday (21/3/2025), the policy will take effect starting April 10, 2025.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that Netanyahu has lost confidence in Ronen Bar, who has led Shin Bet since 2021, and intends to dismiss him immediately. Ronen Bar, who was absent from the cabinet meeting, sent a letter to the Ministers. In the letter, he explained that the process of his dismissal was not in accordance with regulations and was based solely on slander.

In a letter to the Israeli government, Ronen Bar stated that his dismissal was fraught with conflicts of interest and based on unacceptable motives.

Bar has announced his early resignation as a form of responsibility for the failure to anticipate the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which subsequently triggered the Gaza War.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision was made after months of tension with Ronen Bar regarding allegations of corruption in the Prime Minister's office and several senior Netanyahu staff members receiving monetary offers from prominent figures from Qatar.

Netanyahu denied allegations of corruption, calling them an attempt to oust him. On the other hand, Netanyahu's critics stated that the dismissal of Ronen Bar was an authoritarian move that endangers Israel's democracy.

Netanyahu's political move immediately sparked public unrest. Previously, in early March 2025, the Israeli government also dismissed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who was known for her vocal opposition to various Netanyahu policies.

"We are worried that Israel will be ruled by a dictator. They ignore the fate of the hostages and ignore what is important for the State of Israel," said Rinat Hadashi (59).

The unrest has been growing since Friday last week, when news of Ronen's planned dismissal became stronger. Until finally at the beginning of this week, residents took to the streets, expressing protest.

After three days of protests, protesters against Ronen Bar's dismissal joined protesters against continuing the war in the Gaza Strip. The issue of Ronen's dismissal eventually became entangled with Netanyahu's decision to continue the war, invalidating a two-month ceasefire.

Since the beginning of the war, there have been demonstrations by the families of the abducted victims of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. They voiced strong criticism of the Israeli government's choice to continue fighting and endanger the lives of the hostages.

As Israel's war on Gaza continues, the fate of 59 hostages - 24 of whom are believed to be alive - hangs in the balance. Some of the hostages were killed, allegedly due to Israeli bombings in Gaza.

“This is not a solution acceptable to the Israeli people,” the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons said in a written statement.

Before the Gaza war broke out, tens of thousands of Israelis had been protesting for months against Prime Minister Netanyahu's attempts to limit the power of the judiciary. Judicial restrictions are seen as an attempt to threaten democracy. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu argued that the move was taken to limit excessive judicial power.

During the demonstration held on Thursday evening, there were clashes between protesters and police near Netanyahu's residence. Police fired water cannons and arrested several protesters who tried to break through security barricades.

Split

The unrest that broke out Thursday evening was the climax of the right-wing coalition's split since Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022.

On Thursday, former Israeli military chief of staff (Tzahal) Yair Golan, who now leads the opposition Democratic Party, was knocked down during a protest. The crackdown on the opposition leader sparked outrage and the opposition demanded an investigation.

Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the clashes between officers and protesters occurred because the Extremist Government had lost control of power. The protesters also demonstrated in front of the Kirya Military Headquarters where the Israeli Cabinet met to officially dismiss Ronen Bar.

Stone Head

PM Netanyahu, who is being criticized, is being stubborn. He actually accused those who criticized him of being the Deep State. Netanyahu's opponents say the extreme right leader is trying to take full control of Israel's executive branch.

The narrative about the Deep State threatening the government became one of the important themes of the United States Presidential Election campaign put forward by Donald Trump when he ran for the 2017-2021 period. Trump used accusations of the existence of the Deep State as a group working within the government to thwart the programs he had initiated.

In a one-minute video posted on his TikTok account, Netanyahu said the Deep State wants his government to fail. “We will fight them,” Netanyahu said.

In the video clip, Netanyahu is seen walking through the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) while echoing Trump's frequent rhetoric about the dangers of the Deep State. The video was later removed from Netanyahu's account.

"This is a strong, permanent government. Our government is rooted and the Israeli government knows what is best for the people. These people are too far to the left," said Netanyahu, who is the most far-right government in Israeli history.

"You want to adopt a law that is not in line with our political policies. We will defeat it," Netanyahu said.

In early 2023, Netanyahu's political policy of carrying out judicial reform by limiting the power of the Supreme Court sparked massive protests by the Israeli people which only ended with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. (Reuters/AFP)