Israel’s Supreme Court considers Netanyahu’s attempt to shoot the spy head

The highest court of Israel began to hear a case on Tuesday on the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of replace one of his best intelligence garments – A battle in court that could open the door to a constitutional crisis.

The attempt to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, further polarized an already divided Israel. Government supporters consider Mr. Bar as Sleale for Mr. Netanyahu and critics consider his removal a dangerous precedent who undermines the independence of democratic institutions.

The hearing, which was broadcast live in Israel, opened with unruly scenes, while Hecklers forced a panel of the Supreme Court to pause the procedure and taking them back without an audience. It is likely that the hearing lasted most of the day and a sentence was not foreseen on Tuesday.

Here’s what to know about the judicial case that dominates Israel’s titles today.

What is the case?

Last month, Mr. Netanyahu Ronen bar firedThe head of the Shin Bet security service, saying that he no longer trusted him than him. Critics say that Mr. Netanyahu fired Mr. Bar in an attempt to take over a greater power by eliminating a dissenting voice from Israel’s security establishment.

As the head of the bet Shin, Mr. Bar helped lead the Israel war to Gaza and supervise the decades occupation of the West Bank. He was also one of the handfuls of high officials who led the negotiations of ceased the fire with Hamas to release the dozens of hostages seized during October 7, 2023, attacks that he lit the war.

The decision to fire the Mr. Bar came after the bet Shin began to investigate the Netanyahu helpers for potential corruption on theirs ties with the state of the Gulf of Qatar. Netanyahu accused Israeli investigators of having taken his advisers as “hostages”.

Israeli legal experts said that the Supreme Court could break down the removal of the Mr. Bar. This would leave the government of Mr. Netanyahu with the choice or swallow an aspra defeat or reject the sentence of the superior court, creating a potential constitutional crisis.

What is the biggest image?

The critics of Mr. Netanyahu consider the fire of the Mr. independent mentality bar as part of a wider process of Edgando Israel towards the autocracy. They say that by removing Mr. Bar, Mr. Netanyahu is looking for greater control over the powerful domestic intelligence agency.

Israel maintains a ten -year military occupation in the West Bank, where millions of Palestinians Have few civil rights under a two -level legal system. But within the borders recognized internationally in Israel, the country remains a democracy with a robust judiciary and a free wheel print.

From his return to power in 2022, Netanyahu has made a series of reforms intended to weaken controls on executive power. His government proposed a controversial judicial revision This would have removed much of the ability of the Supreme Court to retain the power of the government.

Netanyahu claimed that his proposals would strengthen democracy, which he described how the will of the majority that had elected the current coalition. But they pushed the mass protests by the opponents who feared that he would make the country less free.

How could the Court govern?

The Supreme Court issued an order of freezing of the dismissal of the Mr. Bar almost immediately, but said that Netanyahu could continue to interview potential substitutes while preparing to listen to the case.

Mr. Netanyahu claims that the letter of the law authorizes him to shoot the head of the bet Shin. But the legal experts say that there are a series of potential problems with the decision that the judges could induce to order that Mr. Bar remains in his work.

The bet Shin is investigating Mr. Netanyahu’s office, which means that the judges could cancel Mr. Netanyahu’s decision if they discover that he was motivated by a conflict of interest. They could also decide that its proposal logic – distrust – does not constitute reasons to fire an official.

How could this lead to a constitutional crisis?

Netanyahu has often collided with the Supreme Court and insisted on the fact that he does not have the right to intervene in important decisions. He still has to say if he would have respected the sentence of the Supreme Court if the judges decided to break down the dismissal of the Mr. Bar.

Rejecting the legitimacy of a decision of the Supreme Court would be a tectonic move, potentially paralyzing a great security agency in a moment of war and further launching the balance of power in Israel.

At least some of the allies of Mr. Netanyahu have suggested that the Court is not a business on the fire of Mr. Bar. Shlomo Karhi, the Minister of Communications on the right, wrote on social media that the dismissal of the Signor Bar would go on, whatever happens.

“You don’t have the legal authority to interfere in this,” he wrote. “This is the government’s authority and is alone. Your order is null.”