Although the formal legal reason the attorney-general is using to keep Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director Ronen Bar in office (for now) is the Qatargate probe into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior aides, the core of the battle is much broader.
Their true fight is about how Gaza was handled on October 7 and how it should be handled going forward.
The quarrel is also about Netanyahu allowing Itamar Ben-Gvir, during his two years as national security minister, to reduce police cooperation with the Shin Bet regarding arresting and prosecuting violent Jewish extremists who have attacked Palestinians.
Regarding Gaza, Netanyahu wants to blame the disaster on the IDF and the Shin Bet to free himself of any serious responsibility, saying they convinced him that Hamas was deterred and not an invasion threat.
Bar has no problem taking significant and partial responsibility but has also pointed fingers at Netanyahu for his government’s policies regarding the Temple Mount, treatment of Palestinian security prisoners, Qatargate, and refusing to assassinate certain Hamas leaders.
Looking ahead
Going forward, Bar wants to bring back all of the hostages held by Hamas, even at the price of temporarily agreeing to allow it to remain in power.
Netanyahu wants to continue the war until the terror group is removed, even at the risk of some of the hostages’ lives, both ideologically – to save Israelis from future Hamas attacks – and politically – to keep Bezalel Smotrich in his coalition so that his government will not fall.
Regarding the West Bank, even months before the state prosecution started probing the West Bank police chief for failing to prosecute Jewish extremists to gain favor with Ben-Gvir, Shin Bet sources had been openly complaining that the police were ignoring leads and sometimes were maybe even tipping off extremists being probed.
At a certain point, Shin Bet sources said that they stopped seeing the West Bank police as true partners in fighting crime since they seemed to be undermining the fight against Jewish extremists, even though they still worked together to fight Palestinian terror.
According to Shin Bet sources, one of the greatest concerns about Netanyahu replacing Bar 18 months before his term is set to expire is that he may try to put someone in place who would politicize and undermine the Shin Bet as has happened in the police.
This could permanently alter the identity of the agency and reduce its effectiveness in fighting terror on all fronts.
So, while Qatargate is what may keep Bar in office for some additional weeks or months, the real battle between the two titans is about no less than the past and future identity of Israel’s elite anti-terror agency.