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The government is set to convene a Cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar's dismissal.
Following a meeting Tuesday regarding the reinstatement of Otzma Yehudit party ministers, consultations were held on potentially holding the session to approve Bar’s dismissal, with plans to leave deliberations on firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for Sunday.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara , Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar
(Photos: Shutterstock, Abir Sultan/AFP, IDF)
On Tuesday night, Baharav-Miara informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that as long as the “Qatar-Gate” investigation—implicating staff in his office—is ongoing, it is questionable whether he can legally convene the Cabinet to dismiss Bar. She added that Netanyahu would, in any case, be required to obtain the recommendation of the Advisory Committee for Senior Appointments to approve Bar’s dismissal. Therefore, according to Baharav-Miara, the planned cabinet session to discuss firing the Shin Bet head cannot be held.
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Against the backdrop of renewed fighting in Gaza, which Bar has overseen alongside IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Cabinet did not deliberate Bar’s removal during Tuesday’s meeting. However, ministers unanimously voted to reinstate Itamar Ben-Gvir as national security minister, pending Knesset approval, despite the attorney general’s strong opposition. This suggests Baharav-Miara may not be able to halt the discussion on Bar’s dismissal on her own. Nevertheless, any decision to remove Bar is likely to face immediate petitions to Israel’s High Court of Justice, which could block the move.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who appointed Baharav-Miara to her current role and recently rejoined the Likud party, criticized her during the meeting. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, referring to her opposition to Ben-Gvir’s return to office. “In trying to find a fitting comparison for her eagerness to harm the government, I thought of the kamikaze pilots of World War II who crashed themselves into enemy targets. What we are seeing here is the self-destruction of the Attorney General’s Office in its zeal to strike at the government.”
Sa'ar further questioned Baharav-Miara’s justification for opposing Ben-Gvir’s reappointment. “Even barring an appointment due to an indictment reflects an activist interpretation of the law’s clear language. Now there’s not even an indictment. Apparently, there’s a new reason: 'It just doesn’t sit well with her.’”
Ben-Gvir set three conditions for his return to the government: the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief, the firing of the attorney general and a resumption of military operations in Gaza. All three are now underway, but completing the dismissals still requires overcoming legal petitions and approval by the Advisory Committee for Senior Appointments in both cases.