Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the High Court of Justice on Tuesday to freeze the dismissal of Shin Bet Ronen Bar leader until further notice.
“The judges of the panel have pointed out several times during the discussion that there is no dispute concerning the authority of the government to withdraw the head of Shin Bet from his functions,” said a declaration from the Prime Minister’s office.
“Consequently, the Supreme Court’s decision to delay the end of the 10 -day Shin Bet’s head mandate is confusing.”
“It is inconceivable that the Israeli government is not prevented from removing a defaulting BET net from its functions simply because an unrelated investigation has been opened.”
“On the contrary, such a decision would establish a dangerous precedent, allowing any defaulting leader of Shin Bet who wishes to remain in office to initiate an investigation against any person related to the office of any minister, thus blocking his dismissal.”
“The Prime Minister will continue to interview candidates for the post of Shin Bet chief,” concluded the press release.
Israeli MKS react to the High Court decision
Israeli politicians have also reacted strongly to the decision.
Some have expressed feelings that the rule was undemocratic, while others called on the government to respond.
The Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir went to X to call for immediate legal reform, and the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, called on the government not to comply with the decision.
“Ronen Bar will end his mandate on the date determined by the government. What is democratic in the absolute rule of judge Yitzhak Amit?”
In a similar conviction of the court order, the Minister of the Diaspora, Amichai Chikli, said: “Until today, many Israeli citizens lived under the illusion that they live in a democracy – a country where the explicit words of the law have a meaning.”
“The unhappy decision tonight, under the guise of compromise, strips the ministers of their authority and transforms the court into a de facto guardian of the Knesset and the government.”
“At the decisive moment on each fundamental question-it is not the law that decides, nor the decisions of the government, but a small group of judges that no one has elected,” he added.
However, not everyone was standing with Netanyahu: the MK Naama Lazimi accused him of having tried to associate a coup in the middle of the war, and the president of the Democrats, Yair Golan, said that he had hosted the decision and “demanded that the government had it in accordance with its entirety”.
“Any attempted bypassing the High Court of Justice will be greeted with an unprecedented civil struggle by a determined democratic majority,” added Golan. “A government that does not obey the law cannot remain in office for another day.”
He called Netanyahu to stop shooting the head of Shin Bet, saying: “It is clear for everyone that a Prime Minister cannot dismiss the man who investigates the ties of his people with a foreign country (in reference to the Qatargate affair), especially not in the midst of a war.”
Benny Gantz said that “court decisions must be followed”.
