The Prime Minister’s office claims that Ronen Bar is too involved in the affair to investigate the statements made by the head of the ISA Jewish Department.
The Prime Minister’s office criticized the ISA’s announcement regarding the suspension of the head of the Jewish Department in the organization, and rejected the possibility that the current head of the ISA, Ronen Bar, could investigate the incident.
In the office’s statement, it was noted that “the head of the ISA who was dismissed by the government is barred from investigating the serious incident of the head of the Jewish division who was recorded acting against the law – because he is involved in it.”
It was further claimed that “the head of the ISA is the one who approves the arrest of every Jew, and in the recordings, it was said that the arrests – for which the head of the police unit is heard saying he fears there is no evidence – are directly handled by the Prime Minister’s office.”
The Prime Minister’s office also referred to Ronen Bar’s conduct in the petition to the Supreme Court, stating that “after he falsely claimed in his statement to the Supreme Court that the Prime Minister is using the powers of the organization against citizens, Ronen Bar has an interest in not proving that the opposite is true. The new head of the ISA to be appointed will be the one to address the serious issue that has arisen.”
In the recordings, released for the first time last night, one can hear the head of the Jewish Department referring to suspects in Judea and Samaria as ‘Shmucks’ and stating that in the ISA they arrest them even without evidence for several days, as well as ordering them held in cells with rats.
As a result, the Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich sent a request to the head of the National Security Council to convene the political-security cabinet to discuss the behavior of the ISA towards Jewish suspects among the settlers in Judea and Samaria.
The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, welcomed the ISA official’s suspension and said: “This is an important step in cleaning the air” and called for his immediate dismissal.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin demanded of the Attorney General: “Why has no action been taken by you regarding the recordings of the head of the Jewish Department in the ISA that were published last night, and was this policy followed under your approval?”
