The death of Pope Francis at 88 coincided with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar submitting his explosive affidavit to the Supreme Court, creating a dramatic news cycle. Bar's 11-page document alleged Netanyahu demanded personal loyalty, instructed him to obey the Prime Minister over the Supreme Court in case of constitutional crisis, and requested surveillance of anti-government protesters. Netanyahu's office responded forcefully, calling the affidavit "full of lies" and claiming Bar failed to prevent the October 7 massacre by not alerting security officials.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Smotrich sparked controversy by stating that "returning hostages is not the most important goal," prioritizing Hamas' destruction. This prompted harsh criticism from UTJ's Gafni, who compared him to historical extremists.
In other news, Harish Mayor Yitzhak Keshet was arrested for sexual offenses against female municipality employees, and search operations continued for a diver attacked by a shark in Hadera.