Netanyahu Rebuked Shin Bet Chief Bar for Overstepping Authority
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar attempted to dictate national policy and strategy, exceeding his authority in the months before the October 7th attack, according to a declassified document. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply rebuked Bar in writing, stating the Shin Bet is not responsible for creating national strategy and questioning Bar's focus on non-official matters. The revelations raise concerns that Bar's actions may have contributed to intelligence failures leading to the war.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar attempted to dictate national policy and strategy, exceeding his authority.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Bar in writing, stating the Shin Bet is not responsible for creating national strategy.
- The document details Bar's actions six months before the October 7th attack during a Shin Bet policy forum.
- Netanyahu questioned if Bar's focus on non-official matters contributed to intelligence failures.
- Bar announced his resignation over a year after the October 7th failures.
A dramatic document, recently declassified and revealed by Channel 14 News, details the assertive conduct of former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar in the months leading up to the October 7th attack. The document suggests Bar attempted to dictate national policy and strategy, exceeding his designated authority.
Between July 3rd and 4th, 2023, six months before the outbreak of war, Bar convened a special forum for senior Shin Bet officials to define the agency's policy for 2024. Quotes from these discussions, as revealed in the document, show Bar's significant departure from his mandate, prompting sharp rebukes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The document was delivered to Netanyahu via Military Secretary Avi Gill. After reviewing it, Netanyahu wrote that "in a democracy, the Shin Bet is not responsible for creating national strategy for the State of Israel." He also admonished Bar for attempting to define the organization's role in light of the widespread protests against the judicial reform, writing, "What about the Shin Bet's subordination to the government? Without that, there is nothing. If someone thinks otherwise, they should enter politics to replace the government."
Further sections of the document show Bar proposing national security strategy, including building power to counter the nuclear threat, restoring deterrence, combating Israel's image as weak, strengthening the Palestinian Authority and its security mechanisms, and investing in economic civilian projects. Netanyahu responded to these proposals by writing, "Not a Shin Bet directive."
The revelations raise questions about whether Bar's obsessive focus on matters outside his official purview contributed to the failure to provide critical intelligence warnings before the war. Bar announced his resignation over a year and a half after the October 7th failures, reportedly after receiving an ultimatum from the Prime Minister.
