Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly accused the Israeli Department of Security Director on Sunday of lying to the country’s Supreme Court, the latest twist on Mr. Netanyahu’s attempt to fire security chief Ronen Bar.
Mr. Netanyahu defended his decision in a defense of a 13-page affidavit, who decided to evacuate Mr. Bain, who sought to refute the amazing allegations Mr. Baer made against the Prime Minister in an equally harsh affidavit that Mr. Baer had filed last week with the Supreme Court of Israel last week.
The extraordinary exchange of condemnation was part of the case raised by Israeli oversight organizations and opposition parties against Mr. Netanyahu's decision to expel Mr. Bell and under the full approval of his government, citing a lack of trust between them.
Mr. Bell said the decision to remove him was not based on professional considerations, but “an expectation of personal loyalty.”
The case has flooded Israel with a long-term family crisis that has given Mr. Netanyahu's tenacious, right-wing supporters a balance of power between the government and Israel's democratic character compared to the more liberal Israelis.
To be able to determine the validity of Mr. Bell's removal, the court may now have to determine which conflict affidavit is more credible. Additionally, the Justice can strive for compromise, Mr. Bell resigns to a date.
Mr. Bell accuses Mr. Netanyahu of putting personal loyalty above respect for the Supreme Court's ruling in case of a constitutional crisis. He also said the Prime Minister urged the improper use of Shin Bet's power to monitor Israeli citizens who lead or fund anti-government protests.
Mr. Bell said he was asked to sign an opinion – drafted by Mr. Netanyahu or his aides and based on Mr. Bell's advice is a false security argument – which would hinder progress on the ongoing corruption trial involving the Prime Minister. Mr. Netanyahu was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, accused of providing regulatory favors to the rich in exchange for illegal gifts and favorable media coverage. Netanyahu rejected these claims in his affidavit and used his power to support some of his arguments and made select quotes from selected quotes in transcripts of confidential meetings and reports, which are often classified for decades.
Regarding the trial, Mr. Netanyahu said he simply asked Mr. Bell to testify in court after the Lebanese militia Hezbollah testified, providing urgent security plans in court, Lebanese militia fired a drone that damaged the Netanyahu family’s home in the coastal town of Caesarea.
Mr Netanyahu argued that he did not want to delay testimony but only hoped that the court hearing would be transferred to a safer location.
He described asking Mr. Bell to be asked to monitor the leaders of legitimate protests as “a total lie” saying he only cared about violence and harassment of public figures. Mr. Netanyahu hit Mr. Bell, accusing Sing of his bet of having no doubts about his authorities when chasing far-right activists.
Mr. Netanyahu did not explicitly deny Mr. Bell’s claim on the constitutional conflict between the Supreme Court and the government, but Mr. Netanyahu said Mr. Bell’s wording of the complaints differed in the classification section of his affidavit.
In a detailed response on Sunday, hours after Netanyahu issued the affidavit, Mr. Bell said, “it was “full of inaccuracies, skewed quotes and half-truths designed to distort context and change reality.”
Mr. Bell traces Mr. Netanyahu’s loss of trust and is eager to fire him back to a series of security leaders at the end of 2024 and early 2025, including his decision to investigate Netanyahu’s aides, allegedly suspected security violations involving leaks of confidential documents and leaks with Qatar.
Mr. Netanyahu argued in his affidavit that he lost all his confidence in Mr. Bell on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a fatal surprise attack on southern Israel, igniting the devastating war in Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu accused Mr. Bell of not foreseeing or stopping the attack, saying he was responsible for “the biggest intelligence failure in Israel's history.”
Mr. Netanyahu wrote: “After some worrying signs of Mr. Bell’s activities in Hamas in Gaza shortly before the attack, Mr. Bell issued the advice.
Mr. Netanyahu revealed that Mr. Bell advised against any Israeli action that could lead to “misestimation”, which insisted on what he called the wrong concept of security, namely “to keep the quietness of Gaza at any price.” (According to Mr. Bell, Mr. Netanyahu has also been subscribed to this policy for a long time.)
“When Ronen Bar prevented action out of fear of starting a war, Hamas had already started the war!” Mr. Netanyahu wrote in his affidavit.
Mr. Netanyahu also rejected Mr. Bell's claim that he warned the war a year before the Hamas-led attack, citing clips from transcripts of conferences and intelligence reports, who said Gaza was “scared to death” and that Hamas' leaders did not want to start the war.
Mr. Bell said long before Mr. Netanyahu's decision to fire him that he would resign in due time as part of his responsibility for the failure of intelligence.
