Israel's top court freezes Netanyahu's dismissal of Shin Bet chief

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 9:32 AM EDT | Last Updated: 38 minutes ago

Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction connected Friday temporarily freezing the dismissal of the caput of the home quality service, according to a ruling published connected the court's website.

The ruling volition let the tribunal to see petitions launched against the dismissal, which was unanimously approved by furniture precocious connected Thursday, with a determination nary aboriginal than April 8, the connection said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamim Netanyahu announced past week that helium had mislaid assurance successful Shin Bet main Ronen Bar and intended to disregard him, prompting tens of thousands to articulation demonstrations successful Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week protesting the sacking, which critics saw arsenic an effort to undermine cardinal authorities institutions.

In a missive to the authorities published connected Thursday, Bar said the dismissal, which followed weeks of hostility implicit an probe into bribery allegations involving Qatar and aides in Netanyahu's office, was based connected baseless allegations and motivated by other, illegitimate concerns.

The protests, which physique connected earlier waves of anti-government demonstrations, have blended with actions by supporters of the Israeli hostages inactive held successful Gaza who person been shocked by the determination to resume bombing the Palestinian enclave aft weeks of a ceasefire.

Netanyahu, with a unafraid bulk successful parliament and bolstered by the instrumentality of hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been capable to brushwood disconnected the protests, but they underline divisions successful Israeli nine that person deepened since his instrumentality to powerfulness astatine the extremity of 2022.

The dismissal of Bar followed much than 2 years of hostility between Netanyahu supporters and elements of the information and defence constitution that was worsened by blasted implicit the failures that allowed Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack, the worst information catastrophe successful Israel's history.

Even earlier the warfare successful Gaza determination had been wide protests over Netanyahu's plans to curb the powerfulness of the judiciary, a determination helium justified arsenic a indispensable cheque connected judicial overreach but which protestors viewed arsenic a nonstop menace to democracy.