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Israel’s Supreme Court has temporarily blocked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order to dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service.
The Israeli government voted in favour of Mr Netanyahu’s proposal to sack Mr Bar, despite widespread protests and criticism over the handling of the hostage crisis.
A stay on Mr Bar’s firing was issued by the Supreme Court, allowing time for an appeal to be heard by 8 April.
Protests near Mr Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Thousands of protesters gathered outside Mr Netanyahu’s residence to oppose his dismissal of Mr Bar, who they believed should focus on rescuing the remaining hostages in Gaza.
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Mr Netanyahu dismissed Mr Bar for “ongoing distrust” in the head of Shin Bet.
Mr Bar, who led the agency since 2021, was initially involved in negotiations with mediators in Egypt and Qatar but was replaced by Ron Dermer due to Mr Netanyahu’s belief that Mr Bar was too lenient in negotiations and had leaked information to embarrass the government.
Mr Bar had taken responsibility for the failure to prevent the 7 October attacks and had said he would step down once all hostages were freed and certain investigations completed.
