Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the dismissal of Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, was illegal and procedurally flawed.

The court found that the March decision to fire Bar lacked a legal basis and was carried out without proper process. A three-judge panel concluded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in a conflict of interest, particularly due to ongoing investigations in the “Qatar-Gate” scandal, which involves alleged secret dealings between his aides and Qatar.

Bar had been at odds with Netanyahu over the government’s failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack. Despite Netanyahu citing a “loss of confidence,” Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and opposition leaders appealed the dismissal, leading to a temporary freeze.

Bar later announced he would resign on June 15. The government tried to argue that the petitions were now irrelevant, but the court disagreed.

Justice Yitzhak Amit wrote that Netanyahu’s conflict of interest invalidated his authority to terminate Bar. The court also noted that no advisory committee review or legally mandated hearing was held before the dismissal.

The court’s decision means Bar cannot be removed before his voluntary resignation, but Netanyahu may now begin the process of appointing a successor.

Meanwhile, the ruling comes amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in nearly 53,700 Palestinian deaths since October 2023.