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.



Indian Army Reports 'First Calm Night' after Kashmir Truce with Pakistan Holds

A Pakistani security official stand guard at the scene of a suicide bomb blast targeting a vehicle of police in Peshawar, Pakistan, 11 May 2025. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
A Pakistani security official stand guard at the scene of a suicide bomb blast targeting a vehicle of police in Peshawar, Pakistan, 11 May 2025. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
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Indian Army Reports 'First Calm Night' after Kashmir Truce with Pakistan Holds

A Pakistani security official stand guard at the scene of a suicide bomb blast targeting a vehicle of police in Peshawar, Pakistan, 11 May 2025. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
A Pakistani security official stand guard at the scene of a suicide bomb blast targeting a vehicle of police in Peshawar, Pakistan, 11 May 2025. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB

The frontier between arch-foes India and Pakistan was peaceful and had the "first calm night in recent days", the Indian army said Monday, after a surprise weekend ceasefire.

The truce was agreed to on Saturday after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks between the two countries which killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing, reported AFP.

It was the worst violence since the nuclear-armed rivals' last open conflict in 1999 and sent global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war.

There were initial doubts as the two sides accused each other of breaching the ceasefire just hours after it was unexpectedly announced by US President Donald Trump on social media.

"The night remained largely peaceful across... Kashmir and other areas along the international border," the Indian army said.

"No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days," the statement added.

It was also the second straight night without gunfire or shelling at Poonch, the frontier town in the part of divided Kashmir administered by India.

Poonch was one of the worst-hit regions in the latest conflict, with at least 12 residents killed and most of the estimated 60,000 residents fleeing their homes.

On Sunday, people started trickling back to the town, although many still remained worried that the ceasefire would not last.

The alarming spiral towards all-out conflict began before dawn on Wednesday, when India launched missile attacks destroying what it called "terrorist camps" in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.

This followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.

India accused Pakistan of backing the attack but Islamabad denied involvement and immediately responded to the strikes with heavy artillery fire.

It claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets -- something New Delhi has not commented on.

Militants have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government revoked the region's limited autonomy and took it under direct rule from New Delhi.

Divided Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, who have fought several wars over the territory since their independence from Britain in 1947.