The head of Shabak accused Netanyahu of pressure and the requirement of personal loyalty

Ronen Bar, the head of the Israeli Security Service Shabak, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to put pressure on him and demanded personal devotion. According to the bar, Netanyahu wanted, in the event of a political crisis, he did not obey the Supreme Court, but the prime minister himself. The bar told about this on April 21 in the Supreme Court, where claims are considered against his dismissal, writes The Times of Israel.

Bar believes that it was his refusal to fulfill this requirement and became the reason for dismissal. He also mentioned that he did not help Netanyahu avoid testing in court and made decisions that were unprofitable for the surroundings of the prime minister, including within the framework of investigations.

Netanyahu in response called all this a lie. His office said that if the bar recognized the failures in the work of Shabak, then it was the right decision to dismiss him. The court asked the prime minister to officially explain his position on the statements of the bar.

Back in March, the government voted for the resignation of the head of Shabak, referring to the "loss of trust." After that, mass protests began in Israel, and in April the Supreme Court temporarily suspended dismissal until the final decision.

In his speech, the bar also denied the accusations that Shabak knew in advance about the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, but did not warn Netanyahu. He promised to resign soon, but added that at first the court decision would wait.

Now Shabak continues to investigate not only the circumstances of the Hamas attack, but also the possible illegal connections of people from Netanyahu’s entourage with Qatar - a country that participates in negotiations with Hamas, but is considered his supporter.