JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL

The head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency announced Monday that he will step down on June 15 following a dispute with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which last month issued a decision to dismiss him that was later frozen by the Supreme Court.

“After 35 years of service, in order to allow for an orderly process of appointing a permanent replacement and professional overlap, I will end my role on June 15, 2025,” Ronen Bar said at a memorial ceremony for fallen Shin Bet personnel.

On Sunday, Netanyahu accused Bar of an intelligence failure over the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, public broadcaster KAN reported.​​​​​​​

In an affidavit to the Supreme Court responding to testimony Bar submitted last week on the government's decision to dismiss him, Netanyahu said: “Ronen Bar’s claim that he warned of an impending war and alerted all systems is false. Bar’s handling of the (October 2023) events constitutes the greatest intelligence failure in Israel's history.”

"As the head of the organization, I took responsibility — and now, on the evening that symbolizes memory, heroism and sacrifice, I chose to announce its fulfillment and decided to end my role as head of the Israeli security agency," he added.

He said in remarks addressed to Netanyahu that “carrying out responsibility in practice is an inseparable part of personal example and the legacy of our leaders, and we have no legitimacy to lead without it,” according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Reflecting on Hamas' surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Bar admitted that “after many years across various fronts, everything collapsed in one night on the southern front — all systems failed, including the Shin Bet’s failure to provide an advance warning.”

He said the legal dispute was “not about me personally, but about preserving the independence of future Shin Bet leaders,” adding that he was prepared to cooperate with any future court proceedings.

Last week, Netanyahu formally asked the Supreme Court to force Bar to declare an exact date for his resignation. Senior legal officials told Yedioth Ahronoth that Netanyahu’s move was a “transparent attempt to avoid submitting a sworn affidavit addressing serious accusations made by Bar and to buy time after the court recently rejected a similar request.”

It remains unclear whether Netanyahu plans to submit his own affidavit to the court, which would require him to respond formally to Bar’s claims. According to Yedioth Ahronoth, submitting a false affidavit could expose Netanyahu to criminal charges.

Among other allegations, Bar revealed that Netanyahu pressured him to use the Shin Bet against protesters opposing the prime minister, to delay Netanyahu’s corruption trials under the pretext of security concerns, and to politicize the security agency.

In early April, Israel’s Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the government from dismissing Bar, appointing a replacement, or issuing directives to Shin Bet personnel pending the outcome of opposition petitions.

On March 20, the Netanyahu government approved Bar’s dismissal, which was supposed to take effect on April 10, but the court froze the decision on March 21.

Netanyahu justified his decision by citing a “loss of trust" following the Oct. 7 attacks. However, Bar hinted that political motives were behind his ouster, specifically his refusal to show “personal loyalty” to Netanyahu.

Israel has killed more than 52,300 Palestinians in Gaza since the cross-border attacks, which it said claimed 1,200 lives, with around 250 people taken as hostages.