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 Shin Bet domestic intelligence service that he will ask the government to approve his dismissal this week, a statement from Netanyahu's office said on Sunday.