Ronen Bar to be fired tomorrow: Here's his replacement

The Israeli government is set to fire Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet, tomorrow (Tuesday) to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an ongoing lack of trust between the Director and the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Netanyahu explained his decision in a statement to the Israeli people Sunday evening:

"Citizens of Israel,

We are in the midst of a war for our very survival – a war on seven fronts.

At any time, but especially during such an existential war, the Prime Minister must have complete confidence in the Director of the ISA.

Unfortunately, however, the situation is the opposite: I do not have that confidence. I have a continuing lack of confidence in the Director of the ISA. Distrust that only grew with time.

Due to this continuing lack of confidence, I have decided to submit a draft decision to the Government this week on concluding the service of the Director of the ISA.

I wish to clarify: I have nothing but appreciation for the men and women of the ISA. They are doing important and dedicated work for the security of us all.

As Prime Minister, who is responsible for the ISA, I am convinced that this step is crucial in order to restore the organization, to achieve all of our war objectives, and to prevent the next tragedy."

According to Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal, the leading candidate to replace Bar is M., who joined the hostage negotiation team. As he was a Deputy Director of the Shin Bet on October 7, the government is inquiring how involved he was in the failure to identify and stop the attack.

Meanwhile, leaders of the opposition parties - including Yisrael Beytenu, Yesh Atid, State Camp, and Democrats - have openly threatened to appeal to the Supreme Court to halt the dismissal of Bar, despite the government having clear and unequivocal authority to do so by law.