RAMALLAH, March 17 (MENA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday his intention to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, bringing to a head months of growing disagreements between the two men, reported the Times of Israel Monday.

The Israeli prime minister summoned Bar for an urgent meeting in his office on Sunday evening, Netanyahu’s office said and informed him that the cabinet would vote for his dismissal later in the week.

“At all times, but especially during an existential war such as the one we face, there must be full trust between the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet,” Netanyahu said in a video statement following his meeting with Bar.

Netanyahu was widely reported to have been working for months to try and oust Bar, as he seeks to pin the blame for the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, onslaught on the security services, while exonerating his own government.

Although Bar intended to eventually resign over his agency’s failure to anticipate the attack, he was said to be pushing back against the effort to oust him, fearing that acquiescence would allow Netanyahu to appoint a loyalist in his stead. He was reportedly planning to remain in his post until all the hostages were returned from Gaza and a state commission of inquiry established to probe the failures surrounding October 7, 2023, onslaught on the security services, while exonerating his own government. (MENA)

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