JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would seek to dismiss heads of internal security departments this week, deepening a power struggle with a focus on who is responsible for the Hamas attack, which triggered the Gaza war.
Netanyahu’s efforts to remove Ronen Bar as the director of the gambling are close aides to the Security Bureau’s investigation into the prime minister. Netanyahu said he had “continuous distrust” in the bars, “this distrust grows over time.”
The lawyer said he plans to continue in the position in the near future, citing a “personal obligation” to complete a “sensitive investigation”, freeing the remaining hostages in Gaza and preparing a potential successor.
Bell also criticized Netanyahu’s expectations of personal loyalty contradicted the public interest. But he stressed that he would respect any legal decisions regarding term.
Attorney General said Netanyahu must explain the legal basis for its decision
Israel’s attorney general said Netanyahu must clarify the legal basis for its decision before taking any action.
Shin Bet, who monitors Palestinian militant groups, recently released a report that assumed the failure of the Hamas attacks around October 7, 2023. It also criticized Netanyahu, saying that failed government policies help create the climate that causes it.
Although the Army concluded in a recent report that underestimated Hamas’ capabilities, Shin Bet said it had a deep understanding of the threat. “The agency said in its cover-up criticism of the government that its attempt to thwart the threat was not implemented.
“The investigation revealed a long and deliberate warning of political leaders,” Bell’s statement said.
Deprived of the blame for the October 7 attack
Netanyahu declined to call on the official commission of inquiry against the October 7 attack and tried to blame the failure on the Army and security agencies. In recent months, many senior security officials, including the Secretary of Defense and Army heads, have been fired or forced to step down.
Law firms have been one of the few senior security officials since the October 7 attack.
If he is successfully removed from office, Netanyahu is expected to appoint a loyalist, thus slowing down any momentum on the inquiry committee. The prime minister said the removal would help Israel “to achieve its war goals and prevent the next disaster.”
Netanyahu’s resolution on the bar’s dismissal will require parliament to approve Congress, which he will likely need to support.
But Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israeli Institute for Democracy think tank, said personnel decisions of this scale must be approved by the Attorney General.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara was unable to move forward in a letter warning to Netanyahu.
There was a belliger relationship between the two, with the Prime Minister accusing Baharav-Miara of interfering in the government’s decision. Earlier this month, Attorney General Yarif Levin, one of Netanyahu’s biggest supporters, initiated the process of firing her.
Cohen also called Netanyahu’s decision “very problematic”. He said this illustrates the conflict of interest in the findings of the Shin BET investigation into the October 7 attack and the agency’s investigation into the link between the Prime Minister’s Office and Qatar, the mediator of the Gaza war negotiations.
Netanyahu is angry that Shin’s bet is investigating his employees’ relationship with Katar.
Netanyahu’s former spokesman Eli Feldstein, reported by Israel Channel 12, works for a Doha-based company that recruited Israeli journalists to write the story of Pro-Qatar. Israel’s left-leaning Daily Haaretz reported that two other Netanyahu staff members Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn allegedly established a sport ahead of the 2022 World Cup football match to enhance Qatar’s image.
Shin Bet and Bar have been closely linked to Gaza hostage negotiations. Netanyahu recently took out a lawyer from the negotiating team and replaced him with loyal cabinet minister Ron Dermer. Israeli media reported on policy differences between negotiators working to reach a hostage deal and negotiators threatening to resume the war.
Israel’s Quality Government Movement is a good civil society organization that calls Netanyahu’s declaration of “the rule of law declaration” and claims that he has no right to act against lawyers due to investigations into his office investigation.
Eliad Shraga, the group’s chairman, called the announcement illegal and “an example of extreme conflict of interest.”
Opposition leaders call for rejection of lawyers’ plan “shameful”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would appeal the bar association’s dismissal, calling the resolution “shameful” and politically motivated.
Since Netanyahu was prosecuted in 2019 for corruption allegations, he claimed to be a victim of the “deep state” conspiracy of the media, the judiciary and other unelected civil servants.
He launched a plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system in early 2023, sparking months of protests from protesters who accused him of trying to undermine the country’s checks and balances.
Israeli media said the Bar Association was one of the senior security officials warned before the October 7 attack, and the conflict was sending weaknesses to Israel’s enemies.
Melanie Lidman, Associated Press
