Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday publicly accused the pinnacle of Israel’s home safety company of mendacity to the nation’s prime courtroom, the newest twist in a authorized battle over Mr. Netanyahu’s try to fireside the safety chief, Ronen Bar.
In an acerbic 13-page affidavit defending his determination to take away Mr. Bar, who leads the Shin Guess, Mr. Netanyahu sought to rebut stunning allegations that Mr. Bar made towards the prime minister in an equally scathing affidavit that Mr. Bar submitted final week to Israel’s Supreme Courtroom.
The extraordinary alternate of recriminations got here as a part of a case introduced by Israeli watchdog organizations and opposition events towards Mr. Netanyahu’s determination to oust Mr. Bar, with his government’s full approval, citing an absence of belief between them.
Mr. Bar has mentioned that the choice to take away him stemmed not from skilled issues, however from “an expectation of private loyalty.”
The case has roiled Israel, epitomizing a long-running home disaster that pits Mr. Netanyahu’s hard-line, right-wing supporters towards extra liberal Israelis over the steadiness of energy between branches of presidency and the character of Israeli democracy.
To have the ability to rule on the validity of Mr. Bar’s ouster, the courtroom would possibly now should determine which conflicting affidavit is extra credible. Alternatively, the justices may attempt for a compromise, with an agreed-upon date for Mr. Bar to step down.
Mr. Bar had accused Mr. Netanyahu of inserting private loyalty above respect for the rulings of the Supreme Courtroom ought to a constitutional disaster happen. He additionally mentioned that the prime minister had pressed for the improper use of the Shin Guess’s powers to spy on Israeli residents who had led or funded antigovernment protests.
Mr. Bar mentioned he had been requested to signal an opinion — drafted by Mr. Netanyahu or his aides and primarily based on what Mr. Bar urged have been spurious safety arguments — that will have hampered the progress of an ongoing corruption trial that includes the prime minister. Mr. Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of belief, accused of offering rich supporters with regulatory favors in alternate for illicit items and favorable media protection. In his personal affidavit, Mr. Netanyahu rebuffed these assertions, utilizing his authority to again up a few of his arguments with chosen quotations from transcripts of confidential conferences and reviews that will ordinarily be categorised for many years.
Relating to his trial, Mr. Netanyahu mentioned he had merely requested Mr. Bar to supply an pressing safety plan for his safety whereas testifying in courtroom after Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, launched a drone that damaged the Netanyahu family’s home within the Israeli seaside city of Caesarea.
Mr. Netanyahu argued that he didn’t wish to delay giving testimony however solely needed the courtroom hearings to be moved to a safer location.
He described the declare that Mr. Bar was requested to spy on the leaders of authentic protests as “a whole lie,” saying he was involved solely about situations of violence and harassment of public figures. Hitting again at Mr. Bar, Mr. Netanyahu accused the Shin Guess of getting no qualms about overstepping its authorities when it got here to chasing far-right activists.
Mr. Netanyahu didn’t explicitly deny Mr. Bar’s claims in regards to the demand for loyalty within the occasion of a constitutional conflict between the Supreme Courtroom and the federal government, however Mr. Netanyahu mentioned Mr. Bar had worded the grievance in another way within the categorised a part of his affidavit.
In an in depth response on Sunday, issued hours after Mr. Netanyahu launched his affidavit, Mr. Bar mentioned it was “riddled with inaccuracies, slanted quotes and half-truths supposed to distort the context and alter actuality.”
Mr. Bar had traced Mr. Netanyahu’s lack of belief and want to dismiss him again to a sequence of strikes the safety chief made in late 2024 and early 2025, together with his determination to research Netanyahu aides suspected of safety breaches in instances involving the leaking of classified documents and ties to Qatar.
Mr. Netanyahu contends in his affidavit that he misplaced all confidence in Mr. Bar on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas mounted its lethal shock assault on southern Israel, igniting the devastating struggle in Gaza. Blaming Mr. Bar for not foreseeing or stopping the assault, Mr. Netanyahu mentioned he was answerable for what he known as “the most important intelligence failure in Israel’s historical past.”
Mr. Netanyahu wrote, “You would need to rub your eyes to imagine” the suggestions issued by Mr. Bar shortly earlier than the assault, following some worrying indicators of Hamas exercise in Gaza.
Mr. Bar had suggested towards any broad Israeli actions that would result in a “miscalculation,” Mr. Netanyahu revealed, sticking to what he described as a mistaken safety idea of “preserving quiet in Gaza at any value.” (Mr. Netanyahu had additionally lengthy subscribed to this coverage, in keeping with Mr. Bar.)
“Whereas Ronen Bar was stopping actions out of worry of setting off a struggle, Hamas had already began a struggle!” Mr. Netanyahu wrote in his affidavit.
Mr. Netanyahu additionally rejected Mr. Bar’s declare that he had warned of struggle within the 12 months earlier than the Hamas-led assault, quoting snippets from transcripts of conferences and intelligence reviews by which Mr. Bar mentioned that Gaza was “deterred” and that Hamas’s leaders weren’t trying to begin a struggle.
Mr. Bar had mentioned lengthy earlier than Mr. Netanyahu’s determination to fireside him that he would resign at an applicable time as a part of taking accountability for the intelligence failure.
