Shin Bet to Direct Security for Gadi Eisenkot Starting Sunday

The Shin Bet will assume command of security arrangements for Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, beginning this Sunday. A private security company will guard Eisenkot from Sunday morning, operating under the direct instruction of the agency's elite Unit 730.

The shift in protocol follows a contested process over the summer. In August, Shin Bet chief David Zini initially ruled that Eisenkot did not meet the criteria for protection by Unit 730. That assessment changed after the Advisory Committee for Personal Security examined updated intelligence and threat evaluations in September. The committee subsequently recommended that the Shin Bet oversee his security.

Despite Zini's approval, the Yashar party told The Jerusalem Post in September that no security detail had yet been assigned to Eisenkot. The agency has now moved to implement the measures, including an intelligence oversight and support framework provided by intelligence units. The plan also grants permission for security teams hired by party leaders to carry weapons and establishes coordination between the Shin Bet and those private teams. Periodic situation assessments will gauge the threat level facing each leader.

The authority for these arrangements stems from the Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs, which granted Zini the power to set security terms for party leaders who hold no public office and are not otherwise entitled to state protection. This authorization remains in force until the next Knesset is sworn in.

Not every party leader who has requested protection has received it. Yair Golan, chairman of The Democrats, petitioned for Shin Bet protection citing a threat level comparable to Eisenkot's. The Shin Bet has denied him immediate protection at this stage.