Infighting in Israeli regime as Netanyahu ousts top officials

TEHRAN, (MNA) – Tens of thousands of Israeli settlers have joined anti-Netanyahu protests in recent days as a former Supreme Court chief justice has warned of civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week he was firing Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, citing a crisis of confidence sparked by the failures to prevent Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Netanyahu’s government has also launched a process to dismiss the attorney general, accusing her of obstructing its agenda, AP reported.

The moves come as the Shin Bet is investigating a possible infiltration of Netanyahu’s office by an Arab country and as Netanyahu is on trial for corruption.

They are setting up a showdown between Netanyahu and the judiciary that is deepening divisions in Israel and could set off upheaval at a time when Israel is bogged down by war.

Netanyahu’s government launched a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary in early 2023, a process that touched off mass protests.

Critics said the overhaul would undermine the regime’s delicate system of checks and balances by granting too much power to Netanyahu. He and his governing coalition argued the judiciary had become overly interventionist and was blocking its legislative agenda.

Opponents also criticized Netanyahu for promoting the changes while on trial for corruption. They say a strong and independent judiciary is a necessary safeguard against authoritarian rule.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, which sparked the war in Gaza, paused the overhaul. But it opened up new divisions in the occupying regime over who shouldered blame for not preventing the Hamas attack.

Netanyahu has sidestepped accepting responsibility, seeking instead to point a finger at the heads of the military and the Shin Bet. He has long blamed the “deep state” for wanting to topple his rule.

In a surprise announcement last week, Netanyahu said he was dismissing Bar, sparking mass protests by critics who said the move would undermine Israel’s state institutions and was meant as punishment for the Shin Bet’s investigation into Netanyahu’s office, or to derail it entirely.