Head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency to step down after dispute with Netanyahu government

By Zein Khalil and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL (AA) – The head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency said Monday he will step down on June 15, an announcement made following a dispute with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which last month issued a decision to dismiss him – a decision later frozen by the Supreme Court.

“After 35 years of service, in order to allow for an orderly process of appointing a permanent replacement and professional overlap, I will end my role on June 15, 2025,” Ronen Bar said at a memorial ceremony for fallen Shin Bet personnel.

On Sunday, Netanyahu accused Bar of an intelligence failure over the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, public broadcaster KAN reported.​​​​​​​

In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, responding to testimony Bar submitted last week on the government's decision to dismiss him, Netanyahu said: “Ronen Bar’s claim that he warned of an impending war and alerted all systems is false. Bar’s handling of the (October 2023) events constitutes the greatest intelligence failure in Israel's history.”