The leaders of the four Jewish opposition parties, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), MK Benny Gantz (National Unity), MK Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), and Yair Golan (Democrats), met on Monday to hold consultations regarding the sworn affidavit filed by Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar, the party leaders announced in simultaneous statements on Monday afternoon.
According to their statements, “The prime minister’s conduct, according to the Shin Bet head’s affidavit, places our future and existence in danger and harms national security."
They added that they agreed on a “series of acts” regarding the issue, including a joint demand for an emergency convening of the Knesset plenum in order to “discuss the recent developments.”
The Knesset is currently on recess until May 4, but MKs can request to convene the plenum regardless under certain conditions.
The announcement came soon after the prime minister’s spokesperson issued a response to the affidavit, in which he provided a different interpretation of the events described in Bar’s affidavits but did not provide proof to refute any of the claims.
Bar filed a sworn affidavit to the court, while the prime minister’s response was a statement to the press. The prime minister has until Thursday to file an affidavit of his own to the court.In the affidavit, Bar asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to fire him due to a series of measures that posed political threats.
These included Bar’s refusal to approve security measures that would have delayed Netanyahu’s testimony in his criminal trial; the Shin Bet’s investigation into two cases involving Netanyahu’s close aides, relating to leaked classified documents and alleged public relations services they provided to Qatar; the Shin Bet’s investigation into the October 7 massacre, which indicated that the political echelon ignored numerous warnings about the security dangers involved in the social rift over the 2023 judicial reforms; and Bar’s insistence on the formation of a State Commission of Inquiry.
In the affidavit, Bar also stated that Netanyahu had pressured him to use tools reserved for use against subversion or threats of violence on “financiers” of the protests against the judicial reforms, as well as on reservist groups who threatened to cease fulfilling reserve duty if the reforms were approved.
Bar also filed a classified affidavit, which he claimed was proof of his claims.
Netanyahu 'cannot continue serving as prime minister'
Earlier on Monday, Lapid said in a video statement that the affidavit “proves that Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel’s security and cannot continue serving as prime minister.”
“Netanyahu attempted to use the Shin Bet to monitor Israeli citizens, dismantle democracy, and bury the Qatargate investigation. If Netanyahu appoints the next Shin Bet chief, it poses a significant danger to the State of Israel and all its citizens,” Lapid wrote.
Gantz, in a post on X/Twitter, called the affidavit “brave,” stating it “exposes dark and anti-democratic conduct and underscores the importance of the moral backbone of our security chiefs and the independence of Israel’s gatekeepers.”
“The current situation only highlights how urgent it is to establish a state commission of inquiry and to declare elections as soon as possible in order to halt the deterioration,” he added.
Golan, who retired from his military career in 2018 as deputy IDF chief of staff, wrote on X, “The Shin Bet chief’s affidavit is not just another warning – it is a severe indictment and an emergency alarm for Israeli democracy.”
“The prime minister demanded personal loyalty from the Shin Bet chief instead of loyalty to the state. He demanded that he use the secret service against citizens, lie to the Supreme Court, and bend the rule of law to serve his personal needs.
“Not against terror – but against political rivals, against protests, against citizens who came out to defend democracy. A prime minister who has failed in security and diplomacy, is neck-deep in legal troubles, and whose associates conduct secret dealings with Qatar behind the back of the security establishment tries to exploit the Shin Bet to survive politically.
“Netanyahu is an anarchist leading an anarchist government – this is not just a risk to democracy. It is effectively a coup. Netanyahu is a direct threat to Israel’s security, the rule of law, and the very existence of the state as we know it.“He must go. Now. I wish to strengthen Ronen Bar for his steadfastness, his loyalty to the state, its character, and its values. The people are with you,” Golan wrote.
A number of ministers and MKs from the coalition criticized Bar.
“Ronen Bar submitted an affidavit to the court today, but forgot one small detail: he is no longer the head of the Shin Bet. His term ended with a legal and unanimous government decision,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) said in a statement.
“Any attempt to cling to his position while trampling the law and relying on an unauthorized interim order is a scandal.“There is no greater danger than a security chief who refuses to accept the decision of the authority above him and instead stands as an emissary of the legal bureaucracy and the Kaplanist movement,” Karhi continued.
“Governance is a duty, not a suggestion. Bar must vacate his position – now, before he again endangers Israel’s security,” the minister concluded.
Other MKs and ministers who criticized Bar included Education Minister Yoav Kisch, MK Tally Gotliv (Likud), MK Avichai Boaron (Likud), and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli.
Chikli was the recipient of leaks from a high-ranking Shin-Bet official, whose arrest the government harshly criticized.
Protest groups respond
A number of NGOs responded as well.
A coalition of protest groups called “Hofshee B’artzeinu” (Hebrew for “Free in Our Land”) said in a statement, “A prime minister who asks the head of a security organization to act against public protests, against ordinary citizens, lives with the mindset of a dictator.
“Israel will survive this, remain a democracy, and recover. We are fighting to make that happen! Netanyahu, on the other hand, will be remembered in infamy as the prime minister who tried to turn Israel into a dictatorship and as the one who brought upon the Jewish people the greatest disaster since the Holocaust.”
The chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Adv. Eliad Shraga, said in a video statement later on Monday, “Today all the red lines were crossed.
“The affidavit of the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, does the job of a thousand witnesses saying that Netanyahu is unfit for office. He is legally unfit, he is morally unfit, and he is functionally unfit. He can no longer serve as prime minister.”
Shraga continued, “It is inconceivable that a prime minister would use the Shin Bet’s special tools against citizens, against protest funders, and against protesters.
“It is inconceivable that the prime minister would obstruct justice and try to force the head of Shin Bet to give an opinion that would prevent him from testifying in court, and it is inconceivable that the prime minister would try to disrupt investigative proceedings that show that his entire inner office received money from a country that finances Hamas at a time of war.”
“This story should lead us to one conclusion: Netanyahu is unfit for office. Netanyahu needs to go – and we will do everything to ensure that Netanyahu goes,” Shraga concluded.