Head of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, attorney Eliad Shraga, accuses the prime minister and the government of trying to turn the Shin Bet domestic security agency into “the Stasi,” the feared secret police force in Communist East Germany.

Addressing the High Court of Justice in the hearing over the government’s firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Shraga also alleges that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to install a new head of the service who would be specifically loyal to him.