Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he’s planning to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the domestic security service Shin Bet, with whom he’s quarreled over responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack,

PM cites 'ongoing distrust' in security agency chief, who says expectation of personal loyalty is 'fundamentally illegitimate'; timing coincides with Shin Bet probe into PM's aides The post Netanyahu says he’ll fire Shin Bet chief Bar;

However, then-prime minister Naftali Bennett never seriously considered him for the position due to his closeness with Netanyahu and objections to his candidacy from within portions of the Shin Bet itself.

Tensions escalated as Shin Bet investigated links between Netanyahu's office staff and Qatar, which has been mediating Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks.

The Israeli prime minister’s effort to remove the Shin Bet chief is raising concerns about whether he was seeking to undermine the agency’s independence.

After months of tension, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would seek to remove the chief of the Shin Bet security service, Ronen Bar.