Israeli Supreme Court Freezes Dismissal of Shin Bet Chief

(FILES) Ronen Bar, chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel's wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery on May 13, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) Ronen Bar, chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel's wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery on May 13, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP)
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Israeli Supreme Court Freezes Dismissal of Shin Bet Chief

(FILES) Ronen Bar, chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel's wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery on May 13, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) Ronen Bar, chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel's wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery on May 13, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP)

Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction on Friday temporarily freezing the dismissal of the head of the domestic intelligence service as protestors returned to the streets for a fourth day.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week that he had lost confidence in Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and intended to dismiss him. Tens of thousands of people joined demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week protesting against the sacking, which critics saw as an attempt to undermine state institutions.

"I'm looking at the end of the way of Israel as we knew it in the past. We are very concerned that these are the last days of Israel as a democracy," said Uri Arnin, an entrepreneur who joined a protest outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence.

"We are here to try and change this course, but the chances are not very high," he said.

The Supreme Court ruling will allow the court to consider petitions launched against the dismissal, which was approved by cabinet late on Thursday, with a decision no later than April 8, a court statement said.

"This is not just about Ronen Bar. (...) This is really about Israeli democracy, it's about the rule of law," said Eliad Shraga, a lawyer and founder of the Movement for Quality Government, an anti-corruption group that filed a petition against Bar's dismissal.

The dismissal of Bar followed more than two years of hostility between Netanyahu supporters and elements of the security and defense establishment that was worsened by blame over the failures that allowed Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 attack, the worst security disaster in Israel's history and the trigger for the war in Gaza.

Bar, who had been one of the main Israeli negotiators in ceasefire and hostage release talks, had already indicated he would resign before his term was due to end in about 18 months, accepting responsibility for Shin Bet's failure to forestall the attack.

Netanyahu, with a secure majority in parliament and bolstered by the return of hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been able to brush off the protests.

"There will be no civil war! The State of Israel is a state of law and according to the law, the Israeli government decides who will be the head of the Shin Bet," Netanyahu wrote on social media platform X.

Even before the war in Gaza there had been mass protests over Netanyahu's plans to curb the power of the judiciary, a move he justified as a necessary check on judicial overreach but which protestors viewed as a direct threat to democracy.

In addition to the battles over judicial reform, Netanyahu has been obliged to give regular testimony in a case over corruption allegations, which he denies.

The protests, which build on earlier waves of anti-government demonstrations, have blended with actions by supporters of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza who have been shocked by the decision to resume bombing the Palestinian enclave after weeks of truce and to send troops back in.

As the battle over the Shin Bet chief widened, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that a motion of no confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara, a frequent target of the government's ire, had been put on the agenda for the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The Prime Minister's office declined to comment.



Iran FM Araghchi Arrives in Oman Ahead of Nuclear Talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
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Iran FM Araghchi Arrives in Oman Ahead of Nuclear Talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi arrived in Oman on Friday ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States, after both sides said progress had been made in previous rounds.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X that "Araghchi and his accompanying delegation arrived in Muscat for the third round of Iran-US talks".

Iran's Mehr news agency released a brief video showing the foreign minister disembarking from an Iranian government plane in Muscat.

Baqaei said Araghchi would be leading the delegation of diplomats and technical experts in the indirect discussions with the US side.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent the United States in the talks.

The latest round will include expert-level talks on Iran's nuclear program, with Michael Anton, who serves as the State Department's head of policy planning, leading the technical discussions on the US side, the department said.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead the Iranian technical team.

Baqaei wrote on X that Iran's delegation is "resolved to secure our nation's legitimate and lawful right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while taking reasonable steps to demonstrate that our program is entirely peaceful".

"Termination of unlawful and inhumane sanctions in an objective and speedy manner is a priority that we seek to achieve," he added.

According to Baqaei, the dialogue will again be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi on Saturday morning.

The meeting follows two earlier rounds of Omani-mediated negotiations in Muscat and Rome starting on April 12.

- Calling for 'goodwill' -

Since his return to office in January, Trump has reimposed sweeping sanctions under his policy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.

In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei calling for talks but warning of possible military action if they failed to produce a deal.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.

Baqaei earlier Friday said "progress in the negotiations requires the demonstration of goodwill, seriousness, and realism by the other side".

Iran will treat Saturday's talks seriously, Araghchi said in a recent interview, "and if the other party also enters seriously, there is potential for progress".

In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal signed three years earlier between Tehran and major world powers. The agreement eased sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

After Trump's pullout, Tehran complied with the agreement for a year before scaling back its compliance.

Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit in the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.

In an interview published by Time Magazine on Friday, Trump said the United States will "lead the pack" in attacking Iran if nuclear talks do not lead to a new deal.

But he expressed hope that an agreement could be reached and said he would be willing to meet Khamenei.