Shin Bet chief's revelations against Netanyahu after dismissal

In a message to Israeli cabinet ministers, Shin Bet chief Ronin Bar called the allegations against him baseless and considered his dismissal an attempt to prevent an investigation into the October 7th events and Netanyahu's concealment of the details of the negotiations.

Netanyahu had said that the Shin Bet chief was aware of the event a few hours before the October 7th operation, but did not inform him. An accusation that Ronin Bar has denied.

Ronin Bar stated in this message: "The allegations against me are completely baseless and are merely a cover for other motives. I personally led the prisoner exchange negotiations with the approval of the prime minister. The Shin Bet implements the policies set by the political level and will continue to do so. The decision to dismiss me must be based on clear allegations that I can respond to. Contrary to the allegations, there has been cooperation between the apparatus under my leadership and the Prime Minister since the beginning of the war.”

He added: “You are unaware of most of the details due to the Prime Minister’s instructions. Netanyahu has been preventing me from meeting with you for the past year. The decision to remove me from the negotiating team had a negative impact on the negotiations and did not lead to the release of the hostages. The purpose of removing me from the negotiating team was to conduct negotiations without reaching an agreement. The decision to dismiss me was made to prevent an investigation into the events of October 7.”

The Shin Bet chief acknowledged: “Israel is in a difficult and complicated situation. There are still 59 hostages in Gaza and we have not defeated Hamas.”

After Netanyahu’s cabinet meeting, his ministers voted overwhelmingly in favor of dismissing Ronen Bar. Netanyahu's office also announced that Ronen Bar will end his tenure on April 10 or after the selection of a new Shin Bet chief.

Meanwhile, Hamas stressed that the statements of the dismissed Shin Bet chief indicate that the Israeli Prime Minister is playing with the negotiations file.

Hamas said in a statement: The statements of the Shin Bet chief indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing with the negotiations file and his attempt to thwart any agreement for his own political goals. These statements show that Netanyahu has been and continues to be the real obstacle to the prisoner exchange agreement.

According to Al Jazeera, the Hamas statement said: Netanyahu's efforts to distance influential security figures from the negotiations indicate that he is not serious about reaching an agreement. The statements of the Shin Bet chief indicate Netanyahu's attempt to engineer formal negotiations with the aim of delaying and gaining time.