Bezalel Smotrich refuses to sit with Shin Bet Chief at security meetings

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that he will not attend a critical security meeting scheduled for the day if Shin Bet (ISA) Director Ronen Bar is invited. Smotrich further declared that he will not participate in any future meetings involving Bar.

A statement from Smotrich’s office sharply criticized the Shin Bet chief: “Ronen Bar is a failed ISA director who was effectively dismissed from his role and cannot be a partner in security deliberations. He is a dangerous figure who uses the ISA’s most sensitive intelligence and investigative tools - the holy of holies of Israeli security - for personal revenge against politicians and journalists.”

Smotrich himself accused Bar of both operational and ethical failures. “Ronen Bar failed in his role during the October 7th massacre,” he stated. “Now he is acting criminally in an attempt to execute a coup.”

Likud, Smotrich’s coalition partner, echoed the criticism in a scathing statement. “This morning, another shocking and dangerous affair was revealed inside the ISA under Ronen Bar’s leadership. An ISA operative who felt that the organization had become politicized under Bar’s authority was arrested and interrogated in the ISA’s basements.”

The statement continued: “Ronen Bar, with full cooperation from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, has turned parts of the ISA into a private militia for the deep state - undermining the rule of law and the foundations of Israeli democracy.”

According to Likud, the ISA under Bar’s direction has engaged in the politically motivated targeting of public officials. “Following directives from Ronen Bar and Baharav-Miara - who have a longstanding connection - the ISA arrests and interrogates journalists, blackmails police officials, and launches sham political investigations against ministers and Knesset members from the ruling coalition, all to prevent Bar’s dismissal.”

The party concluded with a direct call for Bar’s removal: “These political investigations must cease immediately. Ronen Bar, who failed disastrously and has since lost the trust of the government, must stop clinging to his role and step down at once. The men and women of the ISA, who carry out sacred work, deserve a new director.”