Intense Conflict Between Ben Gvir and Ronen Bar Reveals Political Crisis in Israeli Government
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office denied on Monday the reports suggesting that Benjamin Netanyahu was involved in the case of collecting evidence against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir by the dismissed Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. Netanyahu’s office considered these allegations as an attempt to undermine the right-wing government led by Netanyahu.
The Confrontation
A heated confrontation took place on Sunday evening, March 23, between National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar during a cabinet meeting. According to Israeli media, Ben Gvir received reports from his advisers indicating that Bar had ordered the gathering of information about him, prompting him to storm the room and directly ask Bar, “Are you behind this?” Bar denied the claim, stating that he had not issued such orders.
Ben Gvir: An Attempted Coup
After the incident, Ben Gvir left the meeting, only to return later with documents that he presented to the session participants. He accused Bar of attempting to carry out a coup, telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “The Shin Bet head is a liar and should be in prison,” referring to Bar as someone who had been spying on the political leadership.
Shin Bet Denial
Later, Channel 12 in Israel reported that Shin Bet had conducted a secret investigation against the police and Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a claim that was denied by the Israeli Security Agency. Shin Bet clarified that no such investigation had taken place.
According to sources, the investigation aimed to monitor political involvement in the unlawful use of force, a claim Shin Bet refuted in an official statement, confirming that “Shin Bet is not currently conducting any investigation against the police or any political level.”
<
p class=”” data-start=”1884″ data-end=”2073″>The Israeli government had announced on Friday, March 21, the termination of Ronen Bar’s duties as the head of Shin Bet amid growing tensions between him and the National Security Minister
