On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named the new head of their domestic intelligence service, which has brought him closer to a potential conflict with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had previously temporarily halted the dismissal of the current intelligence chief.

Eli Sharvit, a former Navy head, will take over for Ronen Bar, who leads Israel’s domestic counterintelligence agency. The cabinet decided in March that Mr. Bar should be dismissed once a successor was appointed.

The installation of Mr. Sharvit as the new intelligence chief has been postponed until the Supreme Court conducts a hearing on April 8 to assess the legality of Mr. Bar’s dismissal.

This move has further intensified concerns from the Prime Minister’s critics, who believe he is seeking to extend his power beyond constitutional limits.

Critics accuse Mr. Netanyahu of dismissing Mr. Bar because he had been investigating the prime minister’s aides, who were under suspicion of leaking state secrets to foreign newspapers and working for foreign governments. Mr. Netanyahu claims that Mr. Bar was let go due to a lack of trust between them. Mr. Netanyahu and his office also blame Mr. Bar for the lapses on October 7, 2023, that enabled Hamas to launch an attack on Israel and initiate the war in Gaza.

The dismissal of Mr. Bar is part of a larger attempt by Mr. Netanyahu to reduce the influence of state watchdogs. A law recently passed in Israel’s Parliament grants politicians more control in selecting Supreme Court justices, and the cabinet is in the process of firing the government’s top lawyer, Gali Baharav-Miara, who has challenged the legality of government decisions.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/world/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-shin-bet.html