Israel has crossed another shocking red line. The sworn affidavit delivered to the Supreme Court on April 21 by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, ostensibly as part of the legal challenge against his own dismissal, is nothing short of a historic indictment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It should trigger an immediate criminal investigation.
Bar’s statement, the most damning ever made by a sitting security chief in Israel, spells out how Netanyahu repeatedly pressured him to abuse his position and the Shin Bet’s immense powers to serve the prime minister’s personal, political, and legal interests.
Bar describes how Netanyahu demanded that the Shin Bet intervene to delay or obstruct his criminal trial, including by pushing Bar to issue a “professional opinion” — ghostwritten by the Prime Minister’s allies — that would render Netanyahu’s court appearances logistically impossible. Bar refused.
The prime minister ordered him to surveil and act against peaceful protestors and political opponents, including identifying "protest funders." Bar again refused, citing legal and ethical limits.
Netanyahu also expected the Shin Bet to monitor journalists, which reportedly included a desired media blackout on his movements — a chilling breach of press freedom.
Additionally, he insisted that Bar pledge personal loyalty to him in the event of a constitutional crisis, explicitly instructing him to obey the prime minister, not the Supreme Court. The implication is stunning: Netanyahu was preparing for a moment in which the security services would side with the executive against the judiciary.
This is totally illegal – which is surely why, according to Bar, Netanyahu ordered aides and stenographers to leave the room in a transparent bid to avoid documentation. And it isn’t conjecture or a political hit job, but the sworn testimony of the director of Israel’s internal security service — someone with unparalleled access to classified information, no political agenda, and everything to lose.
And yet, there has been no police investigation.
In any normal country, the allegations in this affidavit would trigger an immediate criminal probe. But Israel’s police force is controlled by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right ideologue and convicted criminal with no interest in investigating his political patron. The Attorney-General, Gali Baharav-Miara, is herself under dismissal proceedings and may understandably fear acting under such pressure. Still, the law is the law, and the evidence presented by Bar constitutes more than enough to warrant police action.
A-G must open an investigation
What must happen now is simple. Baharav-Miara must direct the police to open an investigation — publicly and unambiguously. This is not a judgment about guilt. It is a basic act of democratic hygiene. A sitting prime minister has been credibly accused, by the head of the Shin Bet, of attempting to hijack state security powers for personal legal protection. That is not merely unethical. It is potentially criminal.
But this cannot be left to the attorney-general alone. The entire opposition must act in concert. Every party that claims to stand for democracy must hold a joint press conference calling for a full investigation — and they must be flanked by every living former head of the Shin Bet and Mossad, declaring in one voice: this has never happened before. Not under Begin, not under Rabin, not even in the chaos of the second intifada or during political assassinations. This moment is unprecedented.
Bar’s testimony also outlines the broader stakes. He details how the Shin Bet issued repeated warnings about Hamas’s growing capabilities and the government’s blind spot in the lead-up to October 7. He recounts how his removal from the hostage negotiation team came without cause, right as a new phase of talks was set to begin. He notes the explosive allegations surrounding Netanyahu aides and their ties to Qatar — a state Netanyahu himself labeled a sponsor of terrorism. Bar makes it clear: he was not dismissed for failure. He was dismissed for defiance.
This is a national alarm bell, written in the clearest, calmest language by a man who has spent 35 years protecting this country from threats foreign and domestic. That he now considers the sitting prime minister a threat to the rule of law should horrify every citizen. Netanyahu must be investigated.
Every moment that passes with inaction is another nail in the coffin of democracy. And if that doesn’t matter to some, they should be aware that the mutation of Israel that Netanyahu is scheming to create would cause mass emigration and poverty, and make it extremely vulnerable to attack.
The writer is the former chief editor of The Associated Press in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the former chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, and the author of two books about Israel. Follow his newsletter, “Ask Questions Later,” at danperry.substack.com.