Booing and shouting erupted at a court hearing on Tuesday in Jerusalem, where judges reviewed petitions against the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet domestic security service.

The disruptions, which prompted an unplanned pause in the High Court of Justice’s hearing about Ronen Bar’s sacking, began with chants by relatives of soldiers who had died fighting in Gaza. The chanters shouted at the judges: “You don’t have the authority.”

The event underscored how Bar’s dismissal last month—and his remaining in office despite it—became the latest battleground in a broader political conflict between Israelis who recognize the legitimacy of the elected right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and those who seek judicial interventions against its mandate

Some of the bereaved families who interrupted the hearing said they blamed Ronen Bar for the failures that led to the death of their loved ones on Oct. 7, 2023, or in subsequent fighting.

The Shin Bet was widely seen as the ultimate intelligence authority when it came to preparing for hostilities by Hamas. Despite this, about 6,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering some 1,200 people and abducting another 251 in a surprise attack whose preliminary signs were largely ignored.

“Because of him, we have no children. Because of him, our children are on Mount Herzl,” cried Itzik Buntzel, whose son Amit fell in the war that followed the Oct. 7 attack, in court. Mount Herzl in Jerusalem has a large military cemetery.

“Our child’s blood is crying out from the ground. How can he stay?” Buntzel said about Bar before the justices ordered that he be ejected and paused the hearing.

The justices later ordered the audience to clear the courtroom and resumed deliberations, which were livestreamed, in an empty hall.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, in a statement, said the commotion at the hearing exposed some of the underlying issues at play in the saga surrounding Bar’s dismissal.

“The cries heard today at the High Court of Justice echo those of millions, whose rights are being trampled on and whose democratic decision they received at the ballot box is being taken away from them by a handful of arrogant and detached judges,” Levin wrote.

Image -  Yonatan Sindel/Flash90