March 23, 2025 (EIRNS)—The protests followed an injunction issued by the High Court of Justice on March 21, temporarily preventing the dismissal of Shin Beth Director Ronen Bar. The order will remain in place until the court can hear the petitions that have been filed against Bar’s dismissal. The court said it will hear the petitions no later than April 8.
The ruling appeared to set up a showdown between the government—with ministers openly vowing to defy the court—and the judicial system that was backed up by large segments of Israeli civil society, Times of Israel reported. The main labor union and business forum threatened a nationwide strike if the government would not abide by the court order.
Following the High Court injunction, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told Netanyahu that he is prohibited from appointing a new director for Shin Bet, or even conducting interviews for the job. Baharav-Miara added that in the meantime, the question of whether Netanyahu can himself be involved in the process of appointing a new Shin Bet chief will be examined “due to the concern of a conflict of interest”—likely a reference to the Qatarigate investigation.
ToI notes that Netanyahu also signed a conflict of interest agreement in 2020 prohibiting him from involvement in the appointment of judges and senior law enforcement officials due to his ongoing criminal trial on corruption charges. The head of the Shin Bet would appear to be among those officials included in that agreement.
Netanyahu responded to the injunction and to Baharav-Miara, posting on X that “The State of Israel is a country of law and according to the law, the Israeli government decides who will be the head of the Shin Bet.” He also wrote that “There will be no civil war!” hours after Israel’s most revered jurist, former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, expressed his fear that the country is heading in that direction due to the government’s moves to fire Bar and prepare to fire Baharav-Miara.
