PM Netanyahu accuses Shin Bet chiefs of ‘mafia-style’ blackmail as clash over intel service reform escalates

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused the current chief of the Shin Bet and his predecessor of blackmailing him, in a dramatic escalation of the simmering tensions between the prime minister and the country’s domestic intelligence service.

Netanyahu’s drastic statement, as well as a police complaint he filed the next morning, came after Nadav Argaman, the predecessor of current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, threatened to reveal compromising information about the premier during an interview that was aired on Thursday.

In response, Netanyahu released a statement to protest the crossing of “another dangerous red line for Israeli democracy.”

“Never, in the entire history of Israel and in the history of democracies, has the former head of a secret intelligence service conducted blackmail live on air against a sitting prime minister,” Netanyahu said.

He continued to accuse current Shin Bet chief Bar of conducting “a whole campaign of blackmail with threats through media briefings in recent days.”

“The only goal is to try to prevent me from making the decisions necessary to restore the Shin Bet after its devastating failure on Oct. 7. Let it be clear: the criminal threats in the style of the mafia will not deter me,” Netanyahu said.

The Shin Bet later hit back at Netanyahu’s “serious accusation”: “Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar devotes all his time to security matters, efforts to recover the hostages, and the defense of democracy. Any other statement on the matter is devoid of any basis.”

The background to the recent escalation is Bar’s refusal to resign from his post. Netanyahu has reportedly been pushing him to follow former IDF chief Herzi Halevi into retirement, with critics alleging that Netanyahu seeks to shift all the blame for Oct. 7 onto the security apparatus without taking personal responsibility.

Netanyahu cannot fire Bar at the moment without exposing himself to accusations of conflict of interest due to an ongoing investigation into alleged contacts between his office and the Qatari state, dubbed “Qatar-gate.”

Argaman, who has been vocal in his support of anti-Netanyahu protests during the judicial reform, made the threat during a sit-down interview on Channel 12.

“It’s quite clear that I have a great deal of knowledge, which I can put to use… but I’m currently keeping everything that happened between myself and the prime minister out of the public sphere,” Argaman said.

However, he warned that “If the State of Israel or if I conclude that the prime minister has decided that he is going to act in contradiction to the law, then I will not have a choice and I will say everything I know and have refrained from saying until today.”

The following morning, Channel 12 News reported that Netanyahu had filed a complaint with Police Commissioner Danny Levy about Argaman’s “blackmail.”

He demanded an investigation be opened after “all the red lines were crossed” by Argaman’s “threats and blackmail.”

“He did it using methods and forms common to criminal organizations, as if the head of Israel’s intelligence service was a mafia man, using practices from the underworld.”

Reactions to the spat were largely predictable, as coalition members defended Netanyahu while opposition leaders excoriated him.

Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid noted that “Netanyahu appointed Nadav Argaman to head the Shin Bet, but I worked with him as a cabinet member and foreign minister. He was professional, tough, completely apolitical, always striving to attack the enemy. I suggest you listen carefully to what he said tonight.”

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz warned, “Harming state security organizations for political interests means acting against the security of the state - and that is what the prime minister is doing tonight while we are facing enormous challenges.”

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s party colleague and former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter defended the premier.

“Unfortunately, Nadav spoke tonight like a politician from the League for Jobs. Simply shameful. The statement about dissolving the government is political for all intents and purposes.”

“When you connect it to the beginning, that is, to the ultimatum he gave the prime minister, it explains everything. The man comes from a political place and goes to a political place. This is a political interview for all intents and purposes,” Dichter said.