Israel government sacks Shin Bet intelligence chief

The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, was sacked Friday, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.”The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said.He will leave his post when his successor is appointed or by April 10 at the latest, the statement said.Netanyahu on Sunday cited an “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason for moving to dismiss Bar, who joined the agency in 1993.Bar, meant to end his tenure only next year, was appointed Shin Bet chief in October 2021 by the previous Israeli government that briefly forced Netanyahu from power between June 2021 and December 2022.His relations with Netanyahu were strained even before the unprecedented October Hamas attack which sparked the war in Gaza, notably over proposed judicial reforms that had split the country.Relations worsened after the March 4 release of the internal Shin Bet report on the Hamas attack.It acknowledged the agency’s own failure in preventing the attack, but also said “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military buildup”.Bar had already hinted that he would resign before the end of his term, taking responsibility for his agency’s failure to prevent the attack.- Secret motives -Bar’s dismissal provoked the anger of the opposition and led to demonstrations accusing Netanyahu of threatening democracy.Several thousand people braved bad weather late Thursday to demonstrate outside Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem and then the Israeli parliament, where ministers were meeting.In a letter made public on Thursday, Bar said Netanyahu’s arguments were “general, unsubstantiated accusations that seem to hide the motivations behind the decision to terminate (his) duties”.He wrote the real motives were based on “personal interest” and intended to “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” being looked at by the Shin Bet.He referred to the “complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation” involving people close to Netanyahu who allegedly received money from Qatar, a case dubbed “Qatargate” by the media.Bar’s dismissal comes after the Israeli army launched a series of massive and deadly bombardments on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, following a two-month truce and “targeted” ground operations.Netanyahu said the operations were intended to put pressure on Hamas to release the 58 hostages remaining in the territory.In rare criticism of Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday that he was worried the resumption of strikes in a time of crisis could undermine “national resilience”.

World’s glacier mass shrank again in 2024, says UNFri, 21 Mar 2025 01:12:31 GMT

All 19 of the world’s glacier regions experienced a net loss of mass in 2024 for the third consecutive year, the United Nations said on Friday, warning that saving the planet’s glaciers was now a matter of “survival”.Five of the last six years have seen the most rapid glacier retreat on record, the UN’s World …

World’s glacier mass shrank again in 2024, says UNFri, 21 Mar 2025 01:12:31 GMT Read More »

Israël: le gouvernement limoge le chef du Shin Bet

Le gouvernement israélien a acté vendredi le limogeage de Ronen Bar, le chef de l’agence de sécurité intérieure Shin Bet, en qui Benjamin Netanyahu a dit ne plus avoir confiance.”Le gouvernement a approuvé à l’unanimité la proposition du Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu de mettre fin au mandat” de Ronen Bar, qui quittera ses fonctions lorsque son successeur sera nommé ou au plus tard le 10 avril, a annoncé le bureau du Premier ministre dans un communiqué.Une lettre du Premier ministre aux membres du gouvernement a évoqué “une perte de confiance professionnelle et personnelle persistante entre le Premier ministre et le directeur du service”, qui empêche “le gouvernement et le Premier ministre d’exercer efficacement leurs pouvoirs, ce qui porte atteinte aux capacités opérationnelles du service et à la gouvernance de l’Etat”.Cette “perte de confiance (…) s’est consolidée au cours de la guerre, au-delà de l’échec opérationnel du 7-Octobre, et en particulier ces derniers mois”, ajoute la lettre, en référence à l’attaque sanglante du Hamas sur le sud d’Israël le 7 octobre 2023 qui avait déclenché la guerre à Gaza.Ronen Bar, nommé en octobre 2021 pour un mandat de cinq ans, avait dès avant la décision assuré qu’il se défendrait devant les “instances appropriées”.Dans une lettre rendue publique jeudi soir, il a affirmé que les motivations de son limogeage, annoncé dès dimanche par M. Netanyahu, sont basées sur “l’interêt personnel” et ont pour but d'”empêcher les enquêtes sur les événements qui ont conduit au 7-Octobre et sur d’autres graves affaires examinées actuellement par le Shin Bet”. L’annonce dimanche de sa future révocation avait provoqué la colère de l’opposition et entraîné des manifestations qui ont dénoncé une “menace contre la démocratie” et accusé M. Netanyahu de vouloir concentrer le pouvoir.Jeudi soir, plusieurs milliers de personnes ont bravé la pluie et le vent pour manifester devant la résidence privée de M. Netanyahu à Jerusalem, puis devant la Knesset, le Parlement israélien, où les ministres étaient réunis.- Motivations secrètes -M. Bar avait déjà laissé entendre qu’il démissionnerait avant la fin de son mandat, mais selon ses termes et en assumant la responsabilité de l’échec de son agence à prévenir l’attaque.Une enquête interne du Shin Bet, rendue publique le 4 mars, a reconnu des failles dans la collecte de renseignements qui auraient pu alerter les autorités. Elle a aussi critiqué l’exécutif, et M. Netanyahu indirectement, jugeant que la politique d’apaisement face au mouvement islamiste palestinien ces dernières années avait “permis au Hamas de bâtir un impressionnant arsenal militaire”.Dans sa lettre rendue publique jeudi soir, M. Bar a affirmé que les arguments du Premier ministre étaient “des accusations générales, non circonstanciées (…) qui semblent cacher les motivations derrière la décision de mettre fin à (ses) fonctions”.Il fait notamment référence à l'”enquête complexe, élargie et très sensible” impliquant des proches de M. Netanyahu qui auraient reçu des sommes d’argent du Qatar, une affaire baptisée “Qatargate” par les médias.La révocation de M. Bar intervient après le lancement mardi par l’armée israélienne d’une série de bombardements massifs et meurtriers après deux mois de trêve et d’opérations terrestres “ciblées” sur la bande de Gaza. M. Netanyahu a pris la responsabilité de ces opérations militaires, destinées selon lui à faire pression sur le Hamas afin qu’il libère les 58 otages encore détenus dans le territoire.Dans une rare critique envers le Premier ministre, le président israélien Isaac Herzog s’est dit jeudi inquiet de la reprise des frappes alors que la pays traverse une crise qui pourrait mettre à mal la “résilience nationale”.

Israël: le gouvernement limoge le chef du Shin Bet

Le gouvernement israélien a acté vendredi le limogeage de Ronen Bar, le chef de l’agence de sécurité intérieure Shin Bet, en qui Benjamin Netanyahu a dit ne plus avoir confiance.”Le gouvernement a approuvé à l’unanimité la proposition du Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu de mettre fin au mandat” de Ronen Bar, qui quittera ses fonctions lorsque son successeur sera nommé ou au plus tard le 10 avril, a annoncé le bureau du Premier ministre dans un communiqué.Une lettre du Premier ministre aux membres du gouvernement a évoqué “une perte de confiance professionnelle et personnelle persistante entre le Premier ministre et le directeur du service”, qui empêche “le gouvernement et le Premier ministre d’exercer efficacement leurs pouvoirs, ce qui porte atteinte aux capacités opérationnelles du service et à la gouvernance de l’Etat”.Cette “perte de confiance (…) s’est consolidée au cours de la guerre, au-delà de l’échec opérationnel du 7-Octobre, et en particulier ces derniers mois”, ajoute la lettre, en référence à l’attaque sanglante du Hamas sur le sud d’Israël le 7 octobre 2023 qui avait déclenché la guerre à Gaza.Ronen Bar, nommé en octobre 2021 pour un mandat de cinq ans, avait dès avant la décision assuré qu’il se défendrait devant les “instances appropriées”.Dans une lettre rendue publique jeudi soir, il a affirmé que les motivations de son limogeage, annoncé dès dimanche par M. Netanyahu, sont basées sur “l’interêt personnel” et ont pour but d'”empêcher les enquêtes sur les événements qui ont conduit au 7-Octobre et sur d’autres graves affaires examinées actuellement par le Shin Bet”. L’annonce dimanche de sa future révocation avait provoqué la colère de l’opposition et entraîné des manifestations qui ont dénoncé une “menace contre la démocratie” et accusé M. Netanyahu de vouloir concentrer le pouvoir.Jeudi soir, plusieurs milliers de personnes ont bravé la pluie et le vent pour manifester devant la résidence privée de M. Netanyahu à Jerusalem, puis devant la Knesset, le Parlement israélien, où les ministres étaient réunis.- Motivations secrètes -M. Bar avait déjà laissé entendre qu’il démissionnerait avant la fin de son mandat, mais selon ses termes et en assumant la responsabilité de l’échec de son agence à prévenir l’attaque.Une enquête interne du Shin Bet, rendue publique le 4 mars, a reconnu des failles dans la collecte de renseignements qui auraient pu alerter les autorités. Elle a aussi critiqué l’exécutif, et M. Netanyahu indirectement, jugeant que la politique d’apaisement face au mouvement islamiste palestinien ces dernières années avait “permis au Hamas de bâtir un impressionnant arsenal militaire”.Dans sa lettre rendue publique jeudi soir, M. Bar a affirmé que les arguments du Premier ministre étaient “des accusations générales, non circonstanciées (…) qui semblent cacher les motivations derrière la décision de mettre fin à (ses) fonctions”.Il fait notamment référence à l'”enquête complexe, élargie et très sensible” impliquant des proches de M. Netanyahu qui auraient reçu des sommes d’argent du Qatar, une affaire baptisée “Qatargate” par les médias.La révocation de M. Bar intervient après le lancement mardi par l’armée israélienne d’une série de bombardements massifs et meurtriers après deux mois de trêve et d’opérations terrestres “ciblées” sur la bande de Gaza. M. Netanyahu a pris la responsabilité de ces opérations militaires, destinées selon lui à faire pression sur le Hamas afin qu’il libère les 58 otages encore détenus dans le territoire.Dans une rare critique envers le Premier ministre, le président israélien Isaac Herzog s’est dit jeudi inquiet de la reprise des frappes alors que la pays traverse une crise qui pourrait mettre à mal la “résilience nationale”.

Trump signs order to ‘eliminate’ US Education Department

US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday aimed at “eliminating” the Department of Education, a decades-old goal of the American right, which wants individual states to run schools free from the federal government.Surrounded by schoolchildren sitting at desks set up in the East Room of the White House, Trump smiled as held up the order after signing it at a special ceremony.Trump said the order would “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education once and for all.””We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing us no good,” Trump said. “We’re going to return education back to the states where it belongs.”The Education Department, created in 1979, cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress — but Trump’s order will likely have the power to starve it of funds and staff.The move honors one of Trump’s campaign promises and is among the most drastic steps yet in the brutal overhaul of the government that Trump is carrying out with the help of tech tycoon Elon Musk.The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.”Democrats and educators have slammed the move.The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, called it a “tyrannical power grab” and “one of the most destructive and devastating steps Donald Trump has ever taken.”Republican leaders, including governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas, were in the audience for the signing ceremony.Trump has cast the move as necessary to save money and improve educational standards in the United States, claiming they are lagging behind those in Europe and China.But education has been a battleground for decades in America’s culture wars, and Republicans have long wanted to remove control of it from the federal government.- ‘Beautiful day’ -Trump’s appointment of McMahon — the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment — to lead the department was widely seen as a sign that its days were numbered.The president said at the signing ceremony that “hopefully she will be our last secretary of education.”McMahon, who moved to halve the department’s staff after being sworn in earlier this month, told reporters at the White House that Trump “wants to get those dollars back to the states without the bureaucracy of Washington.”Trump promised on the campaign trail to get rid of the department and devolve its powers to US states, in much the same way that has happened with abortion rights.But the White House said earlier that a rump education department was likely to stay on to deal with “critical functions” including loans and some grants for low-income students.”The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters before the signing. The Heritage Foundation — a right-wing think-tank that has seen many of its “Project 2025″ recommendations adopted by Trump — welcomed the move.”It’s a beautiful day to dismantle the Department of Education,” it said on X.Traditionally the US government has had a limited role in education, with only about 13 percent of funding for primary and secondary schools coming from federal coffers, the rest being funded by states and local communities.But federal funding is invaluable for low-income schools and students with special needs. And the federal government has been essential in enforcing key civil rights protections for students.Trump, his billionaire advisor Musk and Musk’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) have already dismantled several other government agencies, effectively crippling them by slashing programs and employees.A similar move to dismantle the US Agency for International Development was halted earlier this week by a federal judge, who said the push likely violated the US Constitution.

US judge blocks expulsion of Indian researcher detained over alleged Hamas ties

A US judge ordered Thursday that an Indian researcher at a top American university not be removed from the country, following his arrest and threat of expulsion for alleged Hamas ties.The detention of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, came as fears mount in the academic world that freedom of research and speech is being challenged two months into US President Donald Trump’s new term.Suri’s lawyer demanded his release and denounced the arrest as a “targeted, retaliatory detention” that was intended “to silence, or at the very least restrict and chill, his speech” as well as that of others who “express support for Palestinian rights.”Early Thursday evening Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia Court ordered Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the court issues a contrary order.”The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has also filed an emergency motion to stop the deportation, said Suri was being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.”Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” said ACLU immigrant rights attorney Sophia Gregg. “That is patently unconstitutional.” On Wednesday, the French government condemned the expulsion of a French space scientist meant to attend a conference in Houston, after officials searched his smartphone and found what they called “hateful” messages against US policy.”Dr Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Georgetown University said in a statement.”We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.”Neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio “nor any other government official has alleged that Mr Suri has committed any crime or, indeed, broke any law whatsoever,” his lawyer said in the court filing.The filing accused the US government of having detained Suri “based on his family connection and constitutionally protected free speech.”- Fellow arrested -Suri — a fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, according to the university website — was arrested Monday at his home in Arlington, Virginia, according to Politico, which first reported on the story. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that Suri was “a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.”McLaughlin accused him of having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”The State Department decided the researcher was subject to deportation under a provision of immigration law that allows for expulsion if the visa holder’s presence in the United States is determined to threaten US foreign policy, she added.Hamas is a US-designated terror organization.Georgetown University said it backs its “community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable.”Citing a petition filed by Suri’s lawyer, Politico reported that Suri’s wife is a US citizen of Palestinian descent, and that the couple believes they are being targeted because the government suspects they oppose US policy on Israel.

US judge blocks expulsion of Indian researcher detained over alleged Hamas ties

A US judge ordered Thursday that an Indian researcher at a top American university not be removed from the country, following his arrest and threat of expulsion for alleged Hamas ties.The detention of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, came as fears mount in the academic world that freedom of research and speech is being challenged two months into US President Donald Trump’s new term.Suri’s lawyer demanded his release and denounced the arrest as a “targeted, retaliatory detention” that was intended “to silence, or at the very least restrict and chill, his speech” as well as that of others who “express support for Palestinian rights.”Early Thursday evening Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia Court ordered Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the court issues a contrary order.”The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has also filed an emergency motion to stop the deportation, said Suri was being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.”Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” said ACLU immigrant rights attorney Sophia Gregg. “That is patently unconstitutional.” On Wednesday, the French government condemned the expulsion of a French space scientist meant to attend a conference in Houston, after officials searched his smartphone and found what they called “hateful” messages against US policy.”Dr Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Georgetown University said in a statement.”We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.”Neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio “nor any other government official has alleged that Mr Suri has committed any crime or, indeed, broke any law whatsoever,” his lawyer said in the court filing.The filing accused the US government of having detained Suri “based on his family connection and constitutionally protected free speech.”- Fellow arrested -Suri — a fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, according to the university website — was arrested Monday at his home in Arlington, Virginia, according to Politico, which first reported on the story. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that Suri was “a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.”McLaughlin accused him of having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”The State Department decided the researcher was subject to deportation under a provision of immigration law that allows for expulsion if the visa holder’s presence in the United States is determined to threaten US foreign policy, she added.Hamas is a US-designated terror organization.Georgetown University said it backs its “community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable.”Citing a petition filed by Suri’s lawyer, Politico reported that Suri’s wife is a US citizen of Palestinian descent, and that the couple believes they are being targeted because the government suspects they oppose US policy on Israel.