Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was named the new head of the Intelligence Service on Monday, transferring his government closer to a clash with the Supreme Court, which temporarily suspended the dismissal of today’s espionage leader this month.
Mr Netanyahu’s office has announced that Eli Sharvit, a former chief of the Navy, will succeed Ronen Bar, the current head of the SHIN, the domestic espionage agency of Israel. Mr Netanyahu’s cabinet decided earlier in March that Mr Bar would be rejected early in his post as soon as a successor was installed.
The Prime Minister’s move on Monday has closely prevented a constitutional crisis. Employees clarified that Mr Sharvit’s establishment in the role would be delayed until the Supreme Court was listening to April 8 on the legality of Mr Bar’s dismissal.
But the episode has already increased fears among Mr Netanyahu’s critics that he is trying to expand his power beyond constitutional standards.
Mr Netanyahu’s critics accused him of firing Mr Bar for investigating the Prime Minister’s assistants, accused of leaking state secrets in a foreign newspaper and working for people linked to a foreign government.
Mr Netanyahu said Mr Bar was fired because of the distribution of confidence between the two men. Mr Netanyahu’s office also accused Mr Bar of the omissions early on the morning of October 7, 2023, which allowed Hamas to launch its attack on Israel on that day and ignite the war in Gaza.
Mr Bar’s dismissal came amid Mr Netanyahu’s broader effort to reduce the influence of state guards.
Last week, Israel’s government coalition passed a law in parliament that gives politicians more controlling the choice of judges of the Supreme Court. And earlier in March, the cabinet began the process of triggering the government’s leading government lawyer, Gali Baharav-Irara, who has furious Mr Netanyahu, questioning the legality of government decisions and their violation.
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