Supreme Court Delays Shin Bet Chief's Dismissal Amid Controversy

Israel's Supreme Court temporarily halted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. The decision allows time for an appeal, challenging the Cabinet's authority to fire Bar after a report linked government policies to security lapses before Hamas' attack.

In a significant development Friday, Israel's Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This legal pause is in place pending an appeal, which is slated to be heard no later than April 8.

Earlier, Netanyahu's Cabinet had unanimously supported his decision to remove Bar from his position as the head of the country's internal security service. While the Cabinet intended for the dismissal to take effect by April 10, the Supreme Court's intervention has temporarily thwarted those plans.

Complicating matters, Israel's attorney general has argued there is no legal framework for the Cabinet's decision to remove Bar. A Shin Bet report identifed failures leading up to Hamas' October 2023 attack, implicating prior government policies as contributory factors, thus fueling the controversy surrounding Bar's dismissal.

(With inputs from agencies.)