Israel: security chief to resign at end of war due to ‘intelligence failures’

The head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, Ronen Bar, is expected to resign from his position at the end of the war on the besieged Gaza Strip over the intelligence failures ahead of the Hamas attack on 7 October, one of his predecessors, Yaakov Perry, told Army Radio on Monday.

“I spoke with him directly about what is expected and I have no doubt that he will be one of the first to hand over the keys,” said Perry. “His intention is to leave the position.” Bar, he added, wants to “pay the price” for the failures that led to the resistance operation in the Gaza envelope settlements.

Bar acknowledged on 15 October responsibility for the failures that preceded the 7 October attack. “Despite a series of actions that we carried out, unfortunately, on [7 October] we were unable to generate sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted,” he explained. “As the one who heads the organisation, the responsibility for this is mine. There will be time for investigations. Now we are fighting.”

Perry insisted that the country’s political leaders must leave before the security officials for their failure as well. “We must ensure that there is a balance in which the political leadership and the defence establishment pay the price,” he said. “Everyone must bear responsibility for failure.”

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