Israel's top court freezes Netanyahu's dismissal of Shin Bet chief
Decision comes hours after cabinet unanimously approved PM's request to fire Ronen Bar
Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction on Friday temporarily freezing the dismissal of the head of the domestic intelligence service as protesters returned to the streets for a fourth day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week that he had lost confidence in Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and intended to dismiss him, prompting tens of thousands to join demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week protesting the sacking, which critics saw as an attempt to undermine key state institutions.
"I'm looking at the end of the way of Israel as we knew it in the past. We are very concerned that these are the last days of Israel as a democracy," said Uri Arnin, an entrepreneur who joined a protest outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence.
"We are here to try and change this course, but the chances are not very high," he said.
The Supreme Court ruling will allow the court to consider petitions launched against the dismissal, which was approved by cabinet late on Thursday, with a decision no later than April 8, a court statement said.
Campaigners behind the petition said there were clear concerns about the move to dismiss Bar and an investigation by Shin Bet into alleged financial ties between Qatar and aides in Netanyahu's office. But they said the concerns were wider.
"This is not just about Ronen Bar, it's not even just about alleged ties between Netanyahu's inner circle and Qatar," said Eliad Shraga, a lawyer and founder of the Movement for Quality Government, an anti-corruption group that filed a petition against Bar's dismissal.
"This is really about Israeli democracy, it's about the rule of law," he said.
The dismissal of Bar followed more than two years of hostility between Netanyahu supporters and elements of the security and defence establishment that was worsened by blame over the failures that allowed Hamas's Oct 7, 2023, attack, the worst security disaster in Israel's history and the trigger for the war in Gaza.
Bar, who had been one of the main Israeli negotiators in ceasefire and hostage release talks, had already indicated he would resign before his term was due to end in about 18 months, accepting responsibility for Shin Bet's failure to forestall the attack.
Netanyahu, with a secure majority in parliament and bolstered by the return of hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been able to brush off the protests.
"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," Netanyahu wrote on social media platform X.
Dismissal founded on baseless allegations: Bar
The move to dismiss Bar came amid a bitter fight over the "Qatargate" investigation that has simmered for months, involving allegations of leaks and influence peddling from Netanyahu's office.
Israeli media reported that Shin Bet opened an investigation into the allegations in February and in a letter to the government contesting his dismissal that was leaked to the media, Bar said he regarded completion of the investigation as a "public duty of the highest order."
Netanyahu, who is on trial over a separate series of corruption charges that he denies, has rejected the allegations as "fake news" and a politically motivated campaign against him. A Qatari official also dismissed them as part of a "smear campaign" against Qatar.
In his letter to the government, Bar said his dismissal was founded on baseless allegations, tainted by conflicts of interest and motivated by illegitimate concerns that would jeopardize the investigation.
Even before the war in Gaza there had been mass protests over Netanyahu's plans to curb the power of the judiciary, a move he justified as a necessary check on judicial overreach but which protesters viewed as a direct threat to democracy.
In addition to the battles over judicial reform, Netanyahu has been obliged to give regular testimony in a case over corruption allegations, which he denies.
The protests, which build on earlier waves of anti-government demonstrations, have blended with actions by supporters of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza who have been shocked by the decision to resume bombing the Palestinian enclave after weeks of truce and to send troops back in.
As the battle over the Shin Bet chief widened, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that a motion of no confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara, a frequent target of the government's ire, had been put on the agenda for the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
The prime minister's office declined to comment.