AT FIRST GLANCE it would seem that Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, was acting within his powers when he announced his decision on March 16th to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic-security service. The law allows the government to terminate the Shin Bet chief’s five-year tenure prematurely. He answers directly to the prime minister and as Mr Netanyahu explained in a message to the nation, there was “ongoing distrust” between him and Mr Bar.

AT FIRST GLANCE it would seem that Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, was acting within his powers when he announced his decision on March 16th to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic-security service. The law allows the government to terminate the Shin Bet chief’s five-year tenure prematurely. He answers directly to the prime minister and as Mr Netanyahu explained in a message to the nation, there was “ongoing distrust” between him and Mr Bar.

But the timing and motive of the prime minister’s move are questionable. Shortly after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023 Mr Bar accepted responsibility for his agency’s failure to prevent it. He said he would resign once he had completed vital missions, including securing the release of 251 hostages snatched by Hamas. But 59 of them remain in Gaza (over half of them are believed to be dead). Why is Mr Netanyahu trying to get rid of his security chief now?

Mr Bar, a career intelligence officer who became chief in 2021, is a member of two groups of senior defence and legal officials who are in Mr Netanyahu’s sights. He is an appointee of the short-lived previous government, so his loyalties are regarded as suspect. He is also one of the main figures that the prime minister has tried to blame for the October 7th attacks, deflecting attention from his own responsibility for a long-term strategy of allowing Hamas to retain power in Gaza so that he could claim to have no suitable partner with whom to negotiate.

Mr Netanyahu has largely succeeded in booting this second group of people out of power. In November he fired the defence minister, Yoav Gallant. Most of the officers who were in charge of the Israel Defence Forces or overseeing military intelligence on October 7th have already resigned. The two remaining targets are Mr Bar and the attorney-general, Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the prime minister is also trying to fire.

Getting rid of Mr Bar and Ms Baharav-Miara has taken on new urgency for Mr Netanyahu in recent days. The Shin Bet has been carrying out two investigations against some of the prime minister’s closest aides who allegedly leaked classified documents to the media and received payments from the Qatari government. Mr Netanyahu has publicly denied having received anything from the Qataris but seems rattled by the investigation.

Mr Bar has refused to say whether he will accept his dismissal. He has simply insisted that he will abide by the law. In a lengthy statement, he contradicted Mr Netanyahu’s claim that the “distrust” between them was grounds for his removal. He stressed that his “loyalty is first and foremost to Israel’s citizens.” He referred obliquely to the allegations against the prime minister’s inner circle, saying that among the missions he has to complete before resigning are “a number of sensitive investigations”. The attorney-general also referred to these investigations in a letter to Mr Netanyahu, informing him that the firing of the Shin Bet chief must be put on hold since the process is “tainted by illegality and conflict of interest”.

Mr Netanyahu has already rejected the attorney-general’s objections. But the issue is headed for Israel’s Supreme Court, which has in the past overruled government personnel decisions. If the court accepts the attorney-general’s legal opinion, Mr Netanyahu will have to decide whether to back down or defy the court. If he sticks to his guns, the next case on the court’s docket will undoubtedly be a petition asking it to rule that a prime minister who refuses to abide by its rulings is unfit for office.

That would cause a constitutional crisis that has been building up since Mr Netanyahu returned to office at the end of 2022. His coalition’s major legislative aim was to pass sweeping legal reforms to weaken the powers of the Supreme Court. Widespread protests stymied their efforts at the time. After the war in Gaza began, most of the legislation was put on hold. Now a renewed clash between Israel’s government and judiciary seems all but inevitable. By law, the Shin Bet’s mandate includes protecting “Israel’s democratic process and institutions”. The agency may soon understand that to mean protecting Israel’s democracy from its prime minister.