The High Court of Justice's intervention in the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar would harm the security of the state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued on Sunday in his response to a High Court petition to cancel the dismissal. The response came two days prior to a consequential court hearing on Tuesday on the legality of Bar’s removal.
The response was filed by lawyers Zion Amir, Yinon Sartal, and Nir Lazar, on behalf of both Netanyahu and the government.
In the 27-page filing (and an additional 152 pages of appendixes), the prime minister and the government argued that the authority to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet lay solely with the government according to the law. The government unanimously decided to dismiss Bar, and since the government's responsibility for the Shin Bet is part of its responsibility for the state's security, the issue was non-justiciable.
The PM and government also argued that the petitioners, which included a series of NGOs, political parties, and private citizens, were not directly affected by the decision and therefore did not have a right to appear in a court. Bar himself, the affected party, did not appeal the decision in court, the PM pointed out.
The PM and government also quoted then-Deputy Attorney General and eventual High Court judge Meni Mazuz as saying during preparation of the Shin Bet Law in 2001, that a head of service [Shin Bet] cannot serve if he does not enjoy the government's trust, and that in such cases the government should be able to fire him.
Ronen Bar and Qatatgate
The prime minister also argued that there was “no basis” for the claim that the decision to remove Bar was related to the “Qatargate” investigations into ties between Qatar and three of Netanyahu’s current or previous advisors. According to the prime minister, the “chronological order” of events proved that the Qatar investigation came after it had already been made clear that Bar would be fired after presenting the results of an internal investigation into the Shin Bet’s failure to block the Hamas October 7 massacre.
State attorneys filed their own response to the petitions on Friday. According to the attorneys, led by the Bagatz (High Court) Department head Adv. Aner Helman, it was “clear” that the decision to fire Bar was “flawed to its core” and could not stand. According to the attorneys, the firing was conducted in a “rushed and expedited process; not in accordance with the structured mechanism outlined in government decisions regarding the review of decisions to terminate the tenure of senior public officials; without presenting a solid factual basis to decision-makers; without a hearing as required by case law; and without a legal examination of the issues at hand, including the grounds for termination and aspects of conflicts of interest.”
According to the attorneys, “This will—beyond the severe impact in the specific case—undermine the ability of future Shin Bet heads to act independently and as required. This is because they will know that, with the stroke of a pen, they could be removed from office in a rapid and improper process due to unsubstantiated claims of ‘lack of trust’ by the political echelon, as if they were serving in a position of trust for a government member.”
In a separate filing on Friday , Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon analyzed the prime minister’s conflict of interest, and concluded that “the Prime Minister was in a conflict of interest regarding the process of dismissing the head of the service, thereby violating a fundamental principle that undermines the core of the administrative decision.”
Limon pointed out that conflicts of interest did not require that the prime minister be a suspect, and that the fact that the Qatargate investigation affected his close advisors was enough for him to be prohibited from dealing with Bar’s employment.
The prime minister and government’s lawyers demanded on Friday that the court not accept as relevant to the case a damning seven-page letter written by Bar, which was added as an appendix to the state’s response to the petitions. The lawyers argued that the A-G could not include documents by Bar, since Bar was not a side to the case and was not being represented by the A-G.
Bar revealed in the letter that the prime minister’s lack of trust in him began when he refused to approve the prime minister’s request that the testimony in his trial should not be taken for security reasons.
According to Bar, pressure was also exerted on him to carry out actions he defines as "against the citizens of the state." He added that he was willing to reveal the events in question to a judge behind closed doors.
Bar warned that the implications of the way in which he was fired, if approved by the High Court, went “far beyond” his specific case, as it would signal to the organization’s that it should put loyalty to the prime minister before the rule of law.
Netanyahu first announced his intention to fire Bar on March 16, citing a lack of personal and professional trust. Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara warned that the move was illegal, since the prime minister had a conflict-of-interest due to the Shin Bet’s involvement in the “Qatargate” case, and due to a lack of due process. However, the government ignored her opinion, and voted unanimously on March 20 to fire Bar. The initial text of the decision was for Bar to end his service on April 20, but the official decision was that it will end on April 10.
In response to a series of petitions filed immediately to the High Court against the decision, High Court judge Gila Kanfi-Steinitz ordered a temporary injunction to freeze the firing. On March 25, she extended the injunction until the case is heard on April 8 in front of Chief Justice Yizhak Amit, Deputy Chief Justice Noam Solberg, and justice Dafna Barak-Erez. She permitted Netanyahu to interview new candidates in the interim.
The prime minister announced on Monday his decision to appoint former naval chief V.-Adm. (ret.) Eli Sharvit to the position. However, he rescinded the appointment soon after. A spokesperson for the Likud said on Saturday that the reason for the U-turn was a previously missed article by Sharvit criticizing US President Donald Trump’s climate policies. However, numerous reports indicated that he backed off as a result of pressure from political allies, who opposed the appointment due to Sharvit’s participation in protests against the government’s 2023 judicial reforms.
Netanyahu later announced that he would appoint Deputy Shin Bet Director “S” as acting director until a permanent appointment is made.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said on X/Twitter on Sunday that Netanyahu's "escape from responsibility and fear of the Qatargate scandal is the real reason for Bar's hasty and hysterical dismissal. Every day that this government is in office could end in another major disaster and cost lives."