by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Thousands of people protested outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday night while his cabinet unanimously voted early Friday to dismiss Security chief Ronen Bar.
Unmoved by protesters who marched in heavy rain from Netanyahu’s residence to his office chanting “We will never give up,” Netanyahu’s Cabinet removed Bar from his position. Protests took place throughout the day that included clashes with police and in some cases who used water cannons against protesters.
This marked the first time in Israeli history, the government fired the head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency. Bar will leave his position on April 10, ten days earlier than originally planned, with the possibility of an even earlier departure if a permanent replacement is approved.
As the cabinet deliberated, a letter from Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was distributed, explaining his absence from the meeting. He criticized the government, stating, “unfounded claims that are nothing more than a cover for completely different, extraneous and fundamentally invalid motives designed to disrupt the ability of the Shin Bet to fulfill its role.”
Critics argue that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s removal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar during the investigation into his aides’ alleged involvement in Qatargate was retaliatory, aimed at disrupting probes into suspected illicit connections with Qatari officials.
This past Monday, Netanyahu accused Israel’s attorney general of overreaching her authority and denied that Bar’s dismissal was linked to the attorney general’s investigation into illegal money transfers from Doha to three aides of Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s supporters blame the protests on Israel’s “Leftist Deep State.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the “Deep State” on his official “prime minister” X account, echoing rhetoric similar to that of former US President Donald Trump. Netanyahu wrote, “In America and in Israel, when a strong right-wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will. They won’t win in either place! We stand strong together,” using his official platform to convey his message in English.
Shin Bet, essentially Israel’s version of the U.S. Secret Service and FBI rolled into one, handles Arab-related counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and provides security of the Prime Minister, Supreme Court, opposition leader, and Knesset chairman, along with other high-profile figures. Despite being a security agency, the Shin Bet is not under the Israeli Ministry of Defense and reports directly to the Prime Minister.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Scores of people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores Island early Saturday, authorities said, as rescuers struggled to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, while a less powerful tremor was reported in North Sumatra province.
Five people were injured, one critically, in a shooting involving multiple gunmen at Virginia State University early Saturday, authorities said, a day after six people, including a suspected shooter, died in separate shootings in Michigan.
Romania and neighboring Hungary are facing an energy crisis linked to a record heat wave and the related low level of the Danube River, with Romania forced to shut down its last operating nuclear reactor while Hungary struggles to keep the only one of its four Paks reactors still operating online.
An elderly Christian leader has been detained in India for allegedly offending the religious sentiments of the Asian nation’s Hindu majority on social media.
Members of Pakistan’s Christian minority were reeling Friday after numerous violent incidents over faith and what they say were false allegations of blasphemy against Islam, the majority religion in the Asian nation.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained relatively low in early August, offering another sign that widespread layoffs have yet to take hold even as hiring across the U.S. economy remains subdued.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a second preemptive airstrike in Gaza in two days Thursday, targeting a Hamas terror cell in Khan Yunis that Israeli military officials said was preparing an attack against Israeli forces.