1. Senior coalition sources said during closed-door talks that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar stems not only from a lack of trust in them, but also to expedite the return of Itamar Ben-Gvir and his party to the government, according to the Ynet website on Monday.

Following Netanyahu's notification to the Shin Bet chief yesterday that he had decided to dismiss him from his post, numerous Israeli protest movements began preparations today to organize widespread protests against Netanyahu's decision to dismiss the chancellor and the Shin Bet chief.

Coalition sources claimed that Netanyahu's desire to return Ben-Gvir to the government as soon as possible stems from the approaching deadline for the Knesset to approve the state budget, which is expected to be at the end of this month. Otherwise, the government will automatically collapse and early general elections will be held.

The law stipulates that the state budget must be supported by a majority of 61 Knesset members. Following the withdrawal of Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party from the coalition, the government now relies on the support of 62 MKs, in addition to MK Almog Cohen of Otzma Yehudit, who "rebelled" against Ben-Gvir's decision and did not withdraw from the coalition. Meanwhile, United Torah Judaism faction leader and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf and another MK from his party are threatening not to support the budget, citing the failure to enact a law exempting ultra-Orthodox citizens from military service. Therefore, the coalition will rely on the support of 61 MKs for the budget.

Coalition sources said that Ben-Gvir would be satisfied that Netanyahu would fire the chancellor and the Shin Bet chief, or that he was working toward that, as he has been demanding their dismissal in recent months. This would pave the way for the Otzma Yehudit party's return to the coalition.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held today with the participation of approximately 60 leaders of Israeli protest movements, who decided on protest measures if the government approves the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief. Protest steps will begin with a march toward the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem tomorrow morning and continue the day after.

Against the backdrop of Netanyahu's decision to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet, opposition party leaders Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, and Yair Golan held a meeting in the Knesset today.

Tel Aviv University President Professor Ariel Porat announced that he would strike and join the protests if the Shin Bet chief was dismissed, and called on the university's academic staff to join him.

Ze'ev Degani, principal of the Hebrew Herzliya High School, announced that his school would join the protests against the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief, and that its students would participate in the protests in Jerusalem tomorrow instead of going to school. Degani added that the Reali School in Haifa was also participating in these steps. Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kish commented, saying, "Ze'ev Degani is a criminal, and his announcement constitutes a serious and direct violation of the Compulsory Education Law. Therefore, Degani and the executive committee of the Hebrew Herzliya High School were summoned for an urgent questioning on Wednesday."