A T FIRST GLANCE it would seem that Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, was acting within his powers when he announced his decision on March 16th to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet,

The Israeli prime minister’s effort to remove the Shin Bet chief is raising concerns about whether he was seeking to undermine the agency’s independence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the head of the country's Shin Bet domestic security service Ronen Bar that he plans to bring his dismissal before the government this week, a statement from Netanyahu's office said on Sunday.