Cabinet fires chief of Israeli security agency

Tel Aviv [Israel], March 21 (ANI/TPS): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has unanimously voted to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. The decision, announced in the early hours of Friday morning, marks the first time in Israeli history that the government has fired the head of the domestic security agency (Shin Bet).

Bar's final day will be April 10, earlier than the initially scheduled April 20 departure. Netanyahu's office indicated Bar could leave sooner if ministers approve a permanent replacement.

During a late Thursday cabinet meeting, Netanyahu stated he had lost confidence in Bar following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on southern Israel. The Prime Minister described Bar as "soft" and "not the right person to rehabilitate the organization."

Netanyahu claimed that replacing Bar on the hostage negotiating team with another senior Shin Bet official had reduced leaks and improved negotiations, leading to successful hostage returns. However, the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas was signed in January, before Bar's removal from the team, which has not secured additional hostage releases since.

In response, Bar circulated a letter to the cabinet explaining his absence from the meeting and denouncing the government's "unfounded claims" as a cover for "extraneous and fundamentally invalid motives." He warned that Netanyahu's actions were weakening the country "both internally and against its enemies." (ANI/TPS)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)