Shin Bet Will Not Provide Direct Security for Gadi Eisenkot

The Yisrael Beiteinu party announced Tuesday that the Shin Bet security agency has informed them it will not provide direct security for party chairman Gadi Eisenkot at this time. The party stated this decision was made despite a recommendation from an advisory committee to grant Eisenkot security until the elections. In response, the Shin Bet published a new framework for securing party leaders, developed following a ministerial committee decision on the matter. According to the agency, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar approved a series of measures after professional consultations to provide security coverage for party leaders. Under this framework, Shin Bet intelligence units will offer intelligence monitoring and support, including threat assessment for party leaders. Additionally, party leaders may hire private security firms, and the Shin Bet will approve firearm permits for these guards even without specific intelligence or a concrete threat. The Shin Bet also stated there will be coordination between its security department and private security teams for guidance and improvement of existing coverage. "The agency will conduct periodic assessments to examine the threat level for each party leader and, accordingly, determine the level and method of security implementation for each leader," the Shin Bet said. This issue has been under discussion for over a month. In late August, Bar decided against assigning direct Shin Bet security to Eisenkot. Subsequently, the advisory committee discussed the matter and recommended providing him security until the elections due to received warnings. This recommendation was passed to the relevant authorities but did not obligate the Shin Bet to assign its own guards to Eisenkot.