Netanyahu besieged: Israel’s endless revolt

They call it a revolution—the ceaseless internal upheaval, the persistent subterranean tremor that has characterised Israel’s history in these long months, as much as the war fought across seven fronts. There is, however, an eighth front: the war waged against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This confrontation brings together a vast cohort of leaders, international intellectuals and even soldiers, all of whom feel deeply betrayed. They mourn the replacement of the model set by founding father David Ben-Gurion—the one that forged liberal heroes, soldiers by day and scholars by night—with a leader who embodies a right-wing conviction. The primary mission of the Jewish people, religious and secular alike, is the defense and development of a state that now celebrates its 77th year and finds itself existentially threatened.

The revolt against Netanyahu, elected repeatedly over the past 11 years by a coalition of the common people, intellectuals, conservative economists, soldiers and advocates of judicial reform, has found a new figurehead. Ronen Bar, former head of the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency), has stepped forward after being dismissed, submitting an affidavit to the Supreme Court. The court, increasingly critical of Netanyahu, postponed Bar’s dismissal, signalling its own deep unease. Netanyahu, for his part, will present a counter-document on April 24.

Bar’s affidavit amounts to a declaration of no confidence, a highly personal and political indictment. The international anti-Bibi front rushed to embrace it, eager to again cast Netanyahu as the villain—a warmonger reluctant to end the conflict, accused of apathy toward the plight of Israeli hostages. But the reality is that Netanyahu, unfazed by his volatile coalition (he once effortlessly expelled extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir), is fighting to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip conclusively while using every available means to rescue the 59 Israeli hostages, both living and dead. Capitulation would only encourage Hamas to prepare for another catastrophic attack akin to that of Oct. 7, 2023.

Bar’s downfall was sealed by his failure to anticipate and react to that dark day. Tensions between him and Netanyahu have long simmered, exacerbated by mutual accusations of leaking to the press. In a desperate preemptive move, Bar greenlit an internal investigation, excluding the prime minister, into connections between Netanyahu’s office staff and Qatar, accusing Netanyahu of retaliating by firing him. Plans for Bar’s dismissal, however, had been brewing for months.

In his affidavit, Bar claims that on Oct. 7 at 5:15 a.m., he warned Netanyahu about suspicious movement across Israel’s border with Gaza. He also accused the prime minister of asking him to shield his court absences related to his ongoing corruption trial. He also alleges that Netanyahu pressured him to monitor citizens participating in anti-government protests, turning the Shin Bet, Bar accuses, into his “personal police force.” These allegations serve to shield Bar from the overwhelming blame he faces for his failures on Oct. 7 and to align him with political figures like former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former Shin Bet head Carmi Gilon and former Israel Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who all openly call Netanyahu a dictator and demand his removal.

Netanyahu, in response, vowed to dismantle “every lie.”

Bar, he contends, utterly failed in his duty, notifying him and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant only at 6:15 a.m. Furthermore, Netanyahu asserts that concerns over Bar predate the so-called “Qatargate” and that his requests regarding trial logistics were security-driven following credible death threats and rocket attacks on his home.

Bar’s accusation that Netanyahu sought to weaponise the Shin Bet against protest leaders neglects historical context: the Shin Bet has long monitored both right- and left-wing extremists, a painful lesson rooted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995 by a right-wing fanatic under Gilon’s tenure.

Nonetheless, Bar’s trumpet blast will resonate. Netanyahu, embattled on seven fronts, shows no signs of surrender. U.S. President Donald Trump called Netanyahu yesterday, affirming America’s support for Israel—perhaps a nod to the growing threats from Iran. Ultimately, for those who genuinely care about the state of the Jewish state, that is what must truly matter.