Israel's prime minister, pushing to dismiss internal security chief Ronen Bar, on Monday alleged an attempt to bring down his government after Israeli media reported Bar's agency spent months probing far-right infiltration of the police.
The police are under the supervision of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The minister opposed a ceasefire in Gaza but rejoined the government last week when Israel resumed intensive bombing of the Palestinian territory in its war against Hamas.
In his latest accusation against Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Bar of investigating Ben Gvir without his approval.
Netanyahu is pressing ahead with proceedings to sack Bar, a move which the Supreme Court blocked on Friday and sparked protests around Israel.
"The claim that the prime minister authorised Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to gather evidence against minister Itamar Ben Gvir is yet another exposed lie," Netanyahu said.
"The document that was published, which shows an explicit directive from the head of Shin Bet to collect evidence against the political echelon, resembles dark regimes, undermines the foundations of democracy, and aims to bring down the right-wing government", Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
The accusation came the day after Netanyahu's government began proceedings to sack Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and two days after Bar's firing on Friday. The Supreme Court froze Bar's dismissal that same day.
Ben Gvir reacted on X, calling Bar a "criminal" and a "liar, who is now trying to deny his attempt to conspire against elected officials in a democratic country, even after the documents were revealed to the public and the world."
The unprecedented moves to dismiss the Shin Bet chief and now the attorney general have widened divisions in the country as Israel resumes its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
A reignited protest movement has seen demonstrators accuse the prime minister of threatening democracy.
Netanyahu has cited an "ongoing lack of trust" in Bar and insists it is up to the government who will head Shin Bet.
Adversary of the far-right
Bar's calls against "Jewish terrorism" in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and his warnings to Ben Gvir not to enter Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound were among factors that made him an adversary of Netanyahu's far-right ministers.
The Supreme Court froze Bar's dismissal after the filing of appeals, including from opposition leader Yair Lapid's centre-right Yesh Atid party.
The opposition appeal highlighted what critics see as the two main reasons Netanyahu moved against Bar.
The first was his criticism of the government over the security failure that allowed Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest day in the country's history.
The second was what the opposition appeal said is a Shin Bet investigation of Netanyahu's close associates on suspicion of receiving money linked to Qatar.
Netanyahu's office has dismissed such accusations as "fake news".
Israel's cabinet passed a vote of no confidence on Sunday against Baharav-Miara, the first step in a process to dismiss her.
Netanyahu's office has cited "significant and prolonged differences between the government and the government's legal adviser," a role which the attorney general has.
Following the Supreme Court's initial ruling in the Bar case, Baharav-Miara said Netanyahu cannot name a new internal security chief and is "prohibited to take any action that harms" his position.
With AFP
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