Before protests over the dismissal of his Shin Bet chief could gain momentum, Netanyahu launched a deadly surprise offensive in Gaza
Abed Abou Shhadeh
Two days after his dismissal was announced, Israeli media published a photo of Bar alongside the newly appointed army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, during the command of Israel’s surprise attack on Gaza’s civilian population, which took place as Palestinians awoke in the predawn hours to eat before Ramadan fasting began.
On one side of this story stands Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is gambling on the rise of the far right in the West - an agenda reinforced by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive opposition to the post-World War II global order, the very framework that created institutions like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.
Netanyahu envisions a world where raw military power dictates reality without accountability. His primary concerns are his corruption trial, and the ongoing Shin Bet investigations into media leaks and the “Qatargate” scandal, which centres on dubious financial transactions between Netanyahu aides and Qatar.
On the other side stands Bar, appointed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in 2021. Bar represents Israel’s security elite, who understand the long-term security implications of Netanyahu’s political manoeuvres.
They recognise that Netanyahu is exploiting the war to achieve his political objectives, while evading responsibility for his role in the catastrophic failures of 7 October 2023.
Discourse around human rights simply does not exist in Israel. The debate between these figures is neither ideological nor moral; it is purely an internal Zionist power struggle. But the consequences will be unprecedented for Palestinians and the region as a whole.
Leveraging influence
Like former army chief Herzi Halevi and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, Bar embodies the ethos of the old Zionist establishment, rooted in Zeev Jabotinsky’s doctrine of building an “iron wall” around Israel.
Though Jabotinsky viewed the land on both sides of the fence as belonging to Israel, he believed that the Arab world would never accept Israel, making military superiority a necessity. Despite his nationalist stance, he adhered to a liberal approach, valuing individual rights and the separation of powers.
Before the genocide in Gaza began, Netanyahu and his allies knew that the Israeli public viewed the security establishment as untouchable - a sacred cow. But even before the war, during the peak of protests against the judicial coup, the most organised resistance came from former military and security personnel.
They effectively leveraged their influence over the army, even calling for refusal to serve if the coup were completed. The Israeli high-tech sector, which includes former military cyber unit members, also took a firm stand against it.
As the world watched the destruction in Gaza, Netanyahu and his allies continued their political overhaul
The security failures of 7 October were seen by Netanyahu as an opportunity to eliminate his opponents without any political accountability - something unprecedented even for smaller-scale failures in the past. He understood that the magnitude of the Hamas attacks would rally the Israeli public behind him, driven by a thirst for revenge and a willingness to wage unrestrained war on Gaza.
Even those within the security establishment who opposed the judicial coup ultimately joined Netanyahu’s war effort, amplifying messages of vengeance to soldiers and the public.
Unlike them, Netanyahu never lost sight of his true objective: completing his judicial coup. The moment he had the chance, he systematically dismantled the security leadership to replace them with loyalists.
As the world watched the destruction in Gaza, Netanyahu and his allies continued their political overhaul. Former National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has purged the police force of dissenting senior officials. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has redirected budgets in the occupied West Bank, transferring key powers from military to civilian authorities.
Going all in
When the internationally imposed Gaza ceasefire took effect, Netanyahu found himself in a difficult bind. Hamas adhered to the terms of the deal, releasing Israeli hostages as agreed. This led the families of Israeli captives to hope that further releases may be possible if Israel honoured its commitments.
More significantly, the ceasefire required Israel to withdraw from Gaza - an act Netanyahu knew would be political suicide. Compounding his troubles, the Shin Bet had begun investigating his office, all while he was struggling to pass the state budget, with ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatening to vote against it over a dispute on military conscription for their community.
Recognising the complexity of his position, Netanyahu decided to go all in, relying on American support.
He summoned Bar and informed him of his dismissal. Before protests against the decision could gain momentum, and as Israel’s attorney general warned the firing could not proceed without the establishment of substantial grounds, Netanyahu launched a surprise offensive in Gaza, killing more than 400 people.
The rapid sequence of events worked in Netanyahu’s favour. The Israeli public barely had time to process Bar’s dismissal before the renewed fighting distracted their attention. Ben Gvir reentered the government, helping to secure the passage of Netanyahu’s budget.
Tragically, Palestinian lives have become mere background noise in internal Zionist power struggles. It would be easy to place all the blame on Netanyahu and his allies, but this crisis is built on the fundamental assumption of Zionist supremacy over Palestinian lives.
Since the start of the war, no Israeli politician or protest movement has seriously questioned the legitimacy of the mass killings or their long-term consequences.
If more than a year of warfare, including a ground invasion of Gaza, failed to achieve Israel’s military objectives, will another round of air strikes succeed?
Netanyahu and his partners will not stop pursuing their political ambitions, but the war will eventually end. Only then will Netanyahu’s so-called opponents - those who enabled his genocidal madness - realise that they were merely pawns in his game.
And only then will they understand that, in the eyes of the world, there is no meaningful difference between them and Israel’s messianic far right.
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