Israel’s cabinet passed a vote of no confidence in attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, on Sunday, days after the High Court of Justice, Israel’s highest court, temporarily blocked the cabinet’s dismissal of internal security head Ronen Bar over his failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in Israel.
Baharav-Miara had openly cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against trying to replace Bar, the director of Shin Bet, whose dismissal from service was the first in the agency’s history.
Ahead of the vote on Baharav-Miara, protesters held demonstrations outside the Knesset and the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, leading to scuffles with police, according to news agency AFP.
Netanyahu’s office, citing a cabinet meeting agenda, had said the government would hold the vote on Baharav-Miara “due to her inappropriate behaviour and due to significant and prolonged differences between the government and its legal adviser”.
The unprecedented moves to dismiss the Shin Bet chief and now the attorney general have widened divisions in Israel amid the resumption of its military operations in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Why Netanyahu dismissed Shin Bet chief
Netanyahu has cited an “ongoing lack of trust” in Bar, who is expected to testify on April 8. The Israeli premier has insisted repeatedly “it is up to the government” who will head the Shin Bet.
However, critics see two main reasons behind Netanyahu moving against Bar.
The first was the latter’s criticism of the Israeli government over the security failure that allowed the Hamas attack on October 7, the deadliest day in the country’s history. The second was Shin Bet’s investigation of Netanyahu’s close associates on suspicion of receiving money linked to Qatar.
Netanyahu’s office has dismissed such accusations as “fake news”.
Following the court’s initial ruling on Bar, Baharav-Miara said Netanyahu cannot name a new internal security chief.
“According to the decision of the Supreme Court, it is prohibited to take any action that harms the position of the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. It is prohibited to appoint a new head of Shin Bet, and interviews for the position should not be held,” she said.
