Holding on to the horns of the altar: Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar submitted his response affidavit to his dismissal by the government this morning (Monday) and wrote to the High Court of Justice that he will soon know the date on which he will resign from his position.
In his affidavit, he addressed allegations regarding the criminal investigations, his performance as head of the Shin Bet, his removal from the negotiating team, the timetable for his dismissal, advance knowledge of the October Seven massacre, and more.
Regarding the claim that the Shin Bet had advance notice of the October 7 massacre, Bar wrote: "These claims are a complete lie and constitute nothing less than institutionalized incitement against me and against the organization.".
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According to him, on the night of October 7, the Shin Bet was the one who woke up the system. "After receiving (inconclusive) indications, the Shin Bet began analyzing the signs.".
In the affidavit, Bar claimed, among other things, that the prime minister used to ask him "to act against elements in the opposition protest in violation of Shin Bet rules.".
The ousted Shin Bet chief wrote: "The Prime Minister has spoken to me more than once in a way that sought to establish his expectation that the Shin Bet would act against citizens involved in protests against the government. I was required to provide details regarding the identities of Israeli citizens, protest activists, who were following security targets. The expectation of monitoring 'protest financiers' was made clear to me. It was made clear to me that in a constitutional crisis - I must obey the Prime Minister and not the High Court of Justice.".
According to Bar, the Prime Minister sought to act contrary to the criteria that define the Shin Bet's authority and was refused. "On quite a few occasions, the Prime Minister has requested to discuss issues related to these issues, at the end of working meetings and after asking the military secretary and the typist who operates the recording devices to leave the room, with the clear goal that the exchange of words on this matter would not be recorded.".
The head of the Shin Bet claimed that the Shin Bet did not need to act against the refusals because "they were not accompanied by any clandestine aspect or threat of violence.".
Bar noted that he does not "see these allegations as a legitimate basis for dismissal on the grounds of 'lack of confidence' on the part of the government and its leader. It should be noted that the first time these things were presented as a basis for a claim of dismissal on the grounds of lack of confidence was within the framework of a legal proceeding.".
According to Bar, Netanyahu also asked him to assist in delaying his trial. "Regarding his trial, Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly and unusually pressured me to issue instructions that he should conduct himself in a manner that would not allow the trial to proceed. In the meantime, an attempt was made to force a professional opinion on me in the aforementioned context.".
Regarding his removal from the negotiating team on the hostage issue, he wrote: "I was unexpectedly summoned to a conversation in which I was removed from the team - the timing of the removal, concurrent with the return of hostages in phase A of the deal and close to the need to begin discussing an outline for phase B - surprised me.".
Prime Minister's Office She responded: "Ronen Bar submitted a false affidavit to the Supreme Court today, which will be refuted in detail in the near future. Wait for the continuation.".
The legal commentator Avishai Grainzig He wrote: "The facts are not in front of me and I am not claiming that I am not telling the truth, but there is a real problem in that Ronen Bar's version is evolving from letter to letter.
"In the letter he sent to the government, there is no mention of Netanyahu's demand to obey him and not the court. Nor in the second letter attached to the Attorney General's response that was submitted. Only now, on the third occasion, does it come up for the first time.".
Media person Shimon Riklin Tweeted: "Ronen Bar thinks that if he helps bring down Netanyahu, they will forget what he did and what he didn't do on October 6. He is so wrong and doesn't understand where he lives.".
Tamir Morag, Channel 14's political commentator: "During the disengagement period, the Shin Bet acted against the organizers of the protests. Ronen Bar's argument that Netanyahu's request to act against key activists in the Kaplan protest, some of whom disbanded the army from within on the eve of the massacre, was supposedly an improper political intervention - only proves the claim that the Shin Bet has become a political body.".
