Ronen Bar: Ex-Shin Bet chief who incurred Israel’s right-wing wrath

ISRAEL – The days of Mr Ronen Bar as Israel’s Shin Bet chief were already numbered after

Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct 7, 2023

, having hinted that he would resign to take responsibility for failing to prevent it.

But

he was sacked on March 21

before he could depart himself, after incurring the wrath of the country’s right wing over his positions, including on the attack.

The 59-year-old, with a salt and pepper buzz cut and beard, rose through the ranks to lead the internal security agency after three decades in it.

But he courted anger for speaking of “Jewish terrorism” and opening investigations that targeted those in power after his October 2021 appointment by the previous government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited a “persistent loss of professional and personal trust” for Mr Bar’s dismissal, due to take effect by April 10.

Mr Bar, an Arabic speaker, was a former member of the Israeli army’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit, like Mr Netanyahu, but their relationship was strained.

In a letter made public late on March 20, Mr Bar described his dismissal as being motivated by Mr Netanyahu’s “personal interests”.

The security chief referred to the conclusions drawn by his agency’s probe into the unprecedented Hamas attack on Oct 7, 2023, which said “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military build-up”.

He also pointed to alleged payments from Qatar to people close to the leader even as he vowed to defend himself in the “appropriate bodies”.

Mr Bar joined the internal security service in 1993 after obtaining degrees in political science and philosophy from Tel Aviv University and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard, according to Israeli media reports.

Born in 1965, Mr Bar began as a field officer in Shin Bet’s operational unit, taking part in numerous operations in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.

In 2011, he was appointed head of Shin Bet’s Operations Division and took charge of the mission that led to the assassination of Ahmed Jabari, a leader of Hamas’ military wing.

Three years later, he led search efforts for three Israeli teenagers kidnapped in the occupied West Bank and the hunt for their killers after their bodies were found.

In 2018, he was promoted to No. 2 in the organisation. Then in late 2021, he took over as head of Shin Bet for a five-year term.

His positions soon created opposition from within Mr Netanyahu’s government, which came back to power at the end of 2022, backed by the country’s extreme right.

Mr Bar claimed to fight against “Jewish terrorism”, which he said helped fuel “Palestinian terrorism”, according to his comments quoted by the Israeli media.

Investigations

In 2023, Mr Bar warned far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that police action in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem was creating a feeling of collective punishment and harassment among Palestinian residents.

He also asked Mr Ben-Gvir not to go to the Temple Mount, also known as the Haram al-Sharif, a highly sensitive site in the Old City of Jerusalem revered by both Muslims and Jews. The minister ignored his warnings.

In March 2023, amid protests against judicial reforms, he told Mr Netanyahu there was a link “between security threats and the social situation in Israel”, according to remarks reported by Israeli media.

His fate was ultimately sealed by implicating the government in the Hamas attack on Oct 7 and a probe into the “Qatargate” affair, said Dr Yossi Shain, a professor of political science at Tel Aviv University.

The affair saw senior Netanyahu advisers accused of being paid to promote Qatari interests.

Mr Bar had become the right-wing’s “bete noire” and his dismissal was “a promise (Netanyahu) had made to Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to secure his coalition”, said Dr Shain, referring to Israel’s far-right Finance Minister.

Mr Ben-Gvir was reinstated as national security minister on March 19, after leaving the government in January in protest against a truce agreed with Hamas.

That decision came three days after Mr Netanyahu announced Mr Bar’s imminent dismissal. AFP