Israel's Supreme Court rejects government request to rescind freeze on dismissal of Shin Bet chief
Court rejects government’s claims that injunction had undermined Israel’s security authority
ANKARA
Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday declined a request by the Israeli government to rescind a temporary freeze on the dismissal of Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar.
According to the public broadcaster KAN, the government asked the court to end its temporary injunction on Bar’s dismissal, claiming that it endangers the principle of separation of powers.
Under the court decision, Bar will continue his duties and enjoy all his jurisdictions.
The court, Israel’s highest judicial body, also rejected the government’s claim that its security authority had been undermined by the injunction.
"There is no basis for the argument that the government's power in the security domain has been usurped," reads a court statement cited by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
On March 20, the Israeli government unanimously agreed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to dismiss Bar, making it the first such decision in Israel's history, despite protests from thousands of Israeli citizens.
The Supreme Court, however, issued an interim injunction stating that Bar must remain in office until further notice while the government and the Attorney General’s Office try to come to an agreement on how to resolve the legal dispute over his dismissal.
The court’s decision also formalized its proposal to the government and the attorney general to reach such an agreement and gave them until April 20 to do so.
On April 1, Netanyahu announced the appointment of former Navy Commander Eli Sharvit as the new Shin Bet chief but later retracted the decision amid criticism within his government following revelations that Sharvit had participated in protests against the government in early 2023.
Bar’s dismissal came as Israel continued its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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