Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, this week, according to an Associated Press report on Sunday.

Netanyahu reportedly harbors “ongoing distrust” in Bar, which he says “has grown over time.”

Netanyahu’s office informed Bar that a draft resolution for his dismissal would be presented to the cabinet this week, the New York Times reported.

According to the Times of Israel, Bar stated, “The prime minister’s expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation.”

The Times of Israel also reported that Bar asserted the Shin Bet’s review of the failures leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel “pointed to a policy led by the government, and the person who has headed it, for years, with emphasis on the year preceding the massacre. The investigation showed a longstanding and deliberate disregard by the political echelon for the agency’s warnings.”

Bar’s statement, as reported by the Times of Israel, included: “As someone who headed the Shin Bet on October 7, I took responsibility for the agency’s part and clearly stated that I intend to act on it before the end of my tenure. That is what is expected of everyone.”

Bar was appointed to the position in 2021 by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the Times of Israel noted, also reporting that while no Israeli Shin Bet director has ever been fired, two have resigned early.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, in a letter to Netanyahu, stated that “it is not possible to initiate a dismissal process” of Bar “until the factual and legal basis underlying your decision is fully examined, as well as your authority to address the matter at this time,” according to the Times of Israel.

She added, “This is due to the extraordinary sensitivity of the issue, its unprecedented nature, the concern that the process may be tainted by illegality and conflict of interest, and considering that the role of the head of the Shin Bet is not a personal trust position serving the prime minister.”

However, Justice Minister Yariv Levin has challenged this.

According to the Times of Israel, Levin stated, “The Shin Bet Law explicitly states that the government has the authority to terminate the service of the head of the agency before the end of their term. This law should be known to the attorney general as well. In case anyone is confused, Israel is a democracy, and everyone in it, including the attorney general, is subject to the law.”

The attorney general ordered an investigation last month into “the connection between officials working in the Prime Minister’s Office and officials connected to the state of Qatar,” the Times of Israel previously reported, noting the Shin Bet’s involvement in the investigation.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid commented on Ronen Bar’s situation in a post on X, stating, “For a year and a half, he saw no reason to fire him, but only when the investigation into Qatar’s infiltration of Netanyahu’s office and the funds transferred to his closest aides began, did he suddenly feel an urgent need to fire him immediately,” according to Google’s translation from Hebrew.