Tel Aviv, April 29 (H.S.): Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service, announced his resignation effective June 15 amid ongoing investigations into the ‘Qatargate’ scandal and criticism over Shin Bet’s failure to prevent the Hamas attacks on October 7.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has initiated a public investigation into this lapse. Bar’s resignation was revealed shortly before Memorial Day events, and tensions with Netanyahu have escalated, as Netanyahu had previously sought to remove him, citing a loss of trust.

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked efforts to dismiss Bar. He accuses Netanyahu of wanting to remove him for refusing to carry out controversial requests, while Netanyahu has labeled Bar’s claims as false.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar