Israel’s Supreme Court issued an injunction on Friday, temporarily freezing the dismissal of Ronen Bar, the head of the domestic intelligence service, known as Shin Bet. This comes hours after the Israeli cabinet voted unanimously to dismiss Ronen Bar by April 10 at the latest.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement, Ronen Bar’s “directives to initiate a series of investigations against the prime minister’s associates — investigations whose purpose even the Israeli police fail to comprehend — constitute an abuse of your authority and a wrongful practice that has become a systematic effort to deprive the elected leadership of its power.” He further stated that confidence in the Shin Bet chief, and his ability to lead the service effectively in the face of urgent challenges has been lost.

However, following the cabinet vote, Ronen Bar, in his letter, asserted that

[the] claims are baseless and serve only as a cover for entirely different, improper, and illegitimate motives, aimed at undermining the ability of the Shin Bet to carry out its mission professionally, in accordance with the law, and for the benefit of the citizens of Israel rather than for personal interests.

Furthermore, these motives aim to prevent the uncovering of the truth – both regarding the events that led to the [October 7] massacre and the serious affairs currently being investigated by the Shin Bet.

The petition to freeze the dismissal order was filed by opposition parties, and civil groups, including Yesh Atid, National Unity, Yisrael Beiteinu, and the Movement for Quality Government, arguing that it reflects a “deep conflict of interest” linked to the “Qatargate” investigation, and the government’s responsibility for the October 7 failures. The “Qatargate” investigation concerns Netanyahu’s ties to Qatar, alleging that he enabled Qatar to strengthen Hamas by transferring Qatari funds to his aides in the past 12 years, which resulted in Israeli soldiers being killed daily.

Despite the court ruling, Netanyahu posted on X, “There will be no civil war! The State of Israel is a state of law and according to the law, the Israeli government decides who will be the head of the Shin Bet.” Meanwhile, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the government is also attempting to remove, informed Netanyahu in a letter that he is barred from appointing a new Shin Bet chief or even conducting interviews for the position.

Under Israel’s 2002 General Security Service Law, the head of the Shin Bet is appointed by the government based on the prime minister’s recommendation. The law also grants the government the authority to terminate the Shin Bet chief’s service before the end of their term. However, before making such a decision, the prime minister must first bring the matter before the Advisory Committee on Senior Civil Service Appointments. Notably, since the enactment of the law, no Shin Bet chief has ever been dismissed.