Israeli premier accuses Shin Bet chief of 'mafia-style' blackmail

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of orchestrating a "campaign of blackmail” against him after a former head of the internal security service threatened in an interview Thursday to reveal “everything he knows” about Netanyahu if he acts unlawfully.

“If I come to the conclusion that the prime minister has decided to act against the law, there will be no choice—I will say everything I know and have withheld until now," Nadav Argaman told Channel 12 News.

Argaman's remarks came as efforts to revive a judicial overhaul by Netanyahu's government continued.

Argaman said he has withheld certain incriminating information to maintain the integrity of the relationship between the Shin Bet chief and the prime minister.

"Never, in the entire history of Israel and in the entire history of democracies, has the former head of the secret organization carried out live blackmail threats against a sitting prime minister. This crime joins a whole campaign of blackmail with threats through media briefings in recent days, conducted by the current head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar," Netanyahu said on X, adding: "Tonight, another dangerous red line for Israeli democracy was crossed."

He claimed the threats were intended to stop him from making the decisions needed to "rebuild the Shin Bet after its devastating failure on October 7."

"Mafia-style criminal threats will not deter me. I will do what is necessary to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu noted.

Argaman denied making any threats, saying that Shin Bet chiefs "know a lot" but do not walk around "with the intention to threaten."

He said, however, that "if we think that there are things that we know about, and they endanger the national security of the State of Israel, we will use them according to the law," according to The Jerusalem Post.

"I am very troubled by the fact that the prime minister is deliberately harming Israeli society and causing friction between populations within it in order to rule. I think the first thing that needs to happen here is for this government to fall -- and for a new government to be established in Israel, as broad as possible," Argaman added.

Shin Bet responded to Netanyahu's blackmail accusations, calling them a "serious accusation against the head of a state organization in the State of Israel."

They added that Bar focuses entirely on security issues, efforts to bring back the hostages and protecting democracy, adding: "Any other statement on the matter is devoid of any basis."