Israel's attorney general on Friday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's move to fire internal security chief Ronen Bar, saying it was "tainted by a personal conflict of interest."
In a statement, Gali Baharav-Miara said the government's "decision to terminate the tenure of the head of the Shin Bet is fundamentally flawed, tainted by a personal conflict of interest on the part of the Prime Minister due to the criminal investigations involving his associates."
She added that the move would lead to the politicization of the position.
Netanyahu announced Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar's dismissal on March 21, citing an "ongoing lack of trust," but the supreme court swiftly suspended the decision until April 8.
Bar's relationship with the Netanyahu government soured after he blamed the executive for the October 7, 2023, security fiasco and following a Shin Bet probe into alleged covert payments from Qatar to some Netanyahu aides.
Israeli police on Monday announced the arrest of two Netanyahu aides, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, for their alleged involvement in the case dubbed "Qatargate" in domestic media.
Netanyahu testified in the investigation and later denounced it as a "political witch hunt" aimed at "preventing the dismissal" of Bar.
The move to dismiss Bar has sparked mass protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
With AFP
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