Had Fired Netanyahu But Suspended By Supreme Court, Israel's Shin Bet Chief Chooses To Resign

JAKARTA - Israel's head of the internal intelligence agency, Shin Bet, announced his resignation on Monday, taking effect on June 15, six weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to overthrow him.

"After 35 years on duty, to allow for a permanent replacement appointment process and a professional handover of positions, I will end my post on June 15, 2025," Shin Bet Head Ronen Bar said in a statement released by the security agency. April 29.

The Shin Bet, which handles anti-terrorism investigations, has become the center of a growing political battle that brings together PM Netanyahu's far-right coalition governments with various critics ranging from members of security agencies to families of hostages in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

PM Netanyahu said on March 16, he had long lost confidence in Bar, that trust in the head of the domestic security agency, whose role includes anti-terrorism and security for government officials, was critical in times of war.

Israel's Prime Minister's decision to fire Bar in March sparked protests across the country, with critics arguing the government is destroying key state institutions and endangering Israel's democratic foundations.

The Supreme Court later temporarily froze the government's attempt to fire Bar, which claimed PM Netanyahu wanted to fire him after he refused to comply with a request that included spying on Israeli protesters and disrupting the leader's corruption trial.

Responding to the allegations, PM Netanyahu accused Bar of lying.

The controversy follows more than two years of hostilities between PM Netanyahu supporters and elements of security and defense agencies exacerbated by errors over the failure that allowed the Hamas-led Palestinian militant group attack on October 7, 2023, the worst security disaster in Israel's history and the trigger of war in Gaza.

Bar, which has become one of Israel's main negotiators in ceasefire talks and the release of hostages, has indicated it will resign before its term ends in about 18 months, accepting responsibility for Shin Bet's failure to prevent the attack.