Shin Bet Chief Denies Security Detail to Former IDF Chief Gadi Eizenkot Amid Political Tensions

Shin Bet chief David Zini has decided that the agency will not provide state security protection to former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, who currently leads the Yashar! party. This decision was announced on Saturday night by Channel 12 News and comes amid escalating political tensions between Eizenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Eizenkot emerging as one of Netanyahu's prominent political rivals.

Eizenkot's team responded sharply to the decision, sending a letter to involved parties including the State Attorney's Office. The letter accused the Israeli government, the Security Cabinet, and the advisory committee on security matters of failing to fulfill their personal responsibilities due to foreign political motives. The Yashar! party has recently led some polls with 26 seats, significantly ahead of Netanyahu's Likud party.

About a month prior, Eizenkot's chief of staff, Ron Barkai, had written to Shin Bet chief Zini regarding the security issue. Barkai explained that as a leading candidate for prime minister amid a highly charged political climate, Eizenkot was not receiving adequate security. Consequently, his team had to arrange private, unarmed security, as police regulations prohibit armed bodyguards in this context.

Barkai's letter noted that following internal assessments and several recent incidents, along with Eizenkot's large public presence at party events, they decided to hire private security. However, they were not authorized to provide armed protection, resulting in "unarmed security." Israeli law does not mandate Shin Bet protection for Eizenkot since he is not a government official, but his team views the refusal as a politically motivated and problematic move by the government.

The dispute highlights the growing political rivalry and the complexities surrounding security provisions for senior political figures outside formal government roles.