JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an affidavit before the Supreme Court on Sunday, described as a “liar” the country’s internal security chief, whom the government is trying to fire.
Netanyahu's response came almost a week after Shin Bet head Ronen Bar himself made a sworn statement to the court. It accused the prime minister of demanding personal loyalty and ordering him to spy on anti-government protesters.
Bar's dismissal, announced by the government last month but frozen by the country's top court, triggered mass protests.
The unprecedented move to fire the head of the Shin Bet security agency has been contested by the attorney general and the opposition, which appealed Bar's firing to the Supreme Court.
“The accusation according to which I allegedly demanded action against innocent civilians, or against a non-violent and legitimate protest during the protests of 2023, is an absolute lie,“ Netanyahu said in his court statement.
In his own affidavit, Bar had said “it was clear” that in the event of a potential constitutional crisis, Netanyahu would expect Bar to obey the prime minister and not the courts.
Netanyahu countered: “There is no proof supporting these remarks.”
Bar had also denied accusations by Netanyahu and his associates that the Shin Bet had failed to warn in time about Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
“Nothing was hidden” on that night from the security apparatus or the prime minister, Bar said.
Netanyahu countered before the court that Bar “did not accomplish his mission” that night.
“He did not wake up the prime minister. He did not wake up the minister of defence. He did not wake up the soldiers of the army,“ or others before the attack, Netanyahu alleged.
The prime minister’s 23-page document said Bar “failed in his role as chief of Shin Bet and lost the confidence of the entire Israeli government as far as his ability to continue to manage the organisation”.
Netanyahu's office had already made similar public comments immediately after Bar filed his affidavit.
The security chief hit back with a statement late on Sunday, calling the premier’s affidavit “full of inaccuracies, biased quotes and half-truths”.
“The truth is that I was required to transfer information about Israeli citizens who are protest activists. And the truth is that I was instructed by the prime minister that in the event of a constitutional crisis, I should obey the prime minister and not the court.”
He also attacked Netanyahu for not taking responsibility for the October 2023 attack, saying the prime minister had “directly dictated” a policy of financing Hamas.
An April 8 Supreme Court hearing on the government’s plans to fire Bar ruled that he “will continue to perform his duties until a later decision”.
