Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar submitted the affidavit on Monday afternoon as part of a petition filed against the government's decision to dismiss him. The document contains serious claims, the most prominent of which is encapsulated in the sentence: "It was made clear to me that if a constitutional crisis arises, I must obey the prime minister and not the high court."
Bar also addressed the issue of surveillance on protest leaders against Netanyahu, saying: "Netanyahu asked me on more than one occasion to act contrary to the criteria under which the Shin Bet's powers are exercised, and in all such cases, these requests were denied. In many instances, Netanyahu asked me to discuss these criteria at the end of work meetings and made sure that the stenographer and the military secretary left the room so the exchanges would not be documented."
He added: "Netanyahu repeatedly requested that the Shin Bet act against civilians involved in protests and demonstrations. I was asked to provide information on their identities, and it was made clear to me that there was an expectation to monitor those funding the protests."
The affidavit also references the events of October 7 and the internal Shin Bet investigation: "The actions taken by the Shin Bet overnight did not lead the security system to thwart the murderous attack that had been meticulously planned over many years. A thorough and comprehensive investigation was conducted within the Shin Bet to ensure such a disaster does not happen again. The attack was not coordinated with us, our teams were not dispatched to rescue Shin Bet personnel, and nothing was concealed from the defense establishment or the prime minister - in fact, quite the opposite. I can only conclude that this is an attempt to divert public discourse away from examining the political and security causes that led to the massacre."
On the "Qatargate" affair involving Netanyahu's advisors, Bar stated: "I wish to clarify - any suspicion, even a minor one, that individuals employed by a country that supports Hamas are involved in the sanctum of Israeli decision-making and may be engaged in influence operations, must be thoroughly investigated, particularly given that this country is involved in mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas."
Concerning the grounds for his dismissal, Bar wrote: "I see no legitimate basis for my dismissal on the grounds of 'lack of trust' by the government and its leader." He claimed Netanyahu waged a campaign of incitement against him and those responsible for safeguarding state secrets. According to Bar, this highlights the connection between the timing of the investigations and his dismissal. He requested to elaborate further on these matters in the confidential portion of the affidavit.
Bar noted that he will soon announce his resignation, but emphasized that the high court's ruling on the matter has implications beyond his personal case. It "will impact the ability of the service to fulfill its mission and duties over the long term."
The classified affidavit: Dismissal from negotiating team
The classified affidavit, spanning 31 pages with five appendices, provides extensive details on the claims presented in Bar's public statement, along with references to documents and contemporaneous records.
A significant portion of the classified affidavit focuses on Bar's removal from the team negotiating the hostages' release. "Given the Shin Bet's unique role regarding the hostage deal, I was surprised to be summoned to a meeting where I was informed of my removal from the team, simultaneously with a sudden demand to submit an investigation report," Bar wrote.
He noted that the timing of his dismissal coincided with the return of hostages as part of the first phase of the deal and came just before the onset of discussions about the framework for the second phase.
Prime Minister's Office response
The Prime Minister's Office responded affidavit submitted to the court by Ronen Bar, and stated:
"Ronen Bar's affidavit is full of lies and reveals his failures," the statement said. "Bar claims that on the night of October 7 he alerted the entire system. He conveniently omits that he did not alert the system's leadership - the prime minister and the defense minister. Had he done so, the massacre could have been prevented."
"Bar states that he instructed the military secretary to the prime minister to be awakened at 5:15 a.m. In reality, his chief of staff only called the military secretary at 6:13 a.m. - just minutes before Hamas launched its assault - despite the fact that Bar had held information pointing to a possible attack for more than three hours," the statement added.
The statement from Netanyahu's office continued: "Bar confirms the assessment of all government ministers that he utterly failed on October 7. This fact alone justifies his dismissal. Unintentionally, Bar's affidavit corroborates the government's and the prime minister's claim that his dismissal was already under consideration as early as November 2024. This contradicts the claim made by the attorney general, who argued that Bar's dismissal in February was due to the opening of the investigation regarding Qatar.
"The dismissal was not intended to thwart the investigation. Rather, the investigation was intended to thwart the dismissal."
