Netanyahu reiterates “Deep State” accusations against the Shin Bet following arrest of agent who leaked intel on a secret political investigation.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu republished a statement from his Likud Party on his Facebook page, asserting that the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) is acting in the interests of Israel’s “Deep State.”
The Shin Bet has been transformed by Attorney General Gali Barahav-Miara into the “private militia of the Deep State... [which] undermines the rule of law and the foundations of democracy,” read the Likud press release, which was reposted by Netanyahu.
On Tuesday, the reversal of a gag order permitted Israeli media outlets to report that a Shin Bet agent had been arrested for allegedly leaking classified information to journalists and politicians within Netanyahu’s coalition.
The Shin Bet member, who has only been identified by his first initial A, is believed to have passed along internal documents that revealed the intelligence agency launched a covert probe into National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Israel Police.
That probe was allegedly approved by recently-fired Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, despite explicit instructions from Netanyahu and Barahav-Miara that he did not have permission to investigate the minister.
The whistleblower who revealed the existence of the apparently illicit probe was arrested and will likely face criminal charges.
In a post on Facebook, Justice Minister Yariv Levin wrote that Bar is managing the Shin Bet as a “private intelligence organization that can conduct a political hunting campaign.”
Levin added that the Israeli Left has weaponized the storied intelligence agency to persecute those with right-wing agendas or interests.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a media statement that moving forward, he will boycott any security meetings that include Bar.
Bar is a “dangerous man” who leveraged the Shin Bet’s resources for “personal needs” and to “take revenge on politicians and journalists,” Smotrich charged.