Shin Bet to Guard Israeli Political Leaders Ahead of Elections

The Shin Bet will provide security details for Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan, and Ofer Winter, leaders of the Yashar, Democrats, and Amcha Yisrael parties respectively, starting Sunday, October 25. This decision reverses an earlier announcement by the Shin Bet that it would only provide oversight and intelligence support for party leaders.

The Yashar party stated that Eisenkot would be guarded by a private company, but its operations would be directly coordinated by the Shin Bet's unit responsible for protecting state officials. The Democrats party reported that following a petition to the High Court of Justice, the Shin Bet informed Golan's office that he would receive state-funded security. The party noted this change occurred just two days before the election.

Amcha Yisrael later confirmed that Winter would also receive similar security arrangements. Approximately a month prior, the Shin Bet had declared it would not assign personal guards to Eisenkot and Golan, instead offering surveillance and threat assessment for all party leaders. The agency indicated that if a party leader hired a private security firm, their guards would be permitted to carry weapons.

The decision to assign security was made by a ministerial committee chaired by Justice Minister Yariv Levin. The committee tasked the Shin Bet's head, David Zini, with determining the specific security measures for Eisenkot, Golan, and Winter, as they lacked existing protection. This arrangement is set to remain in effect until the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset.