Shin Bet Assumes Security Role for Yashar Leader Gadi Eisenkot

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, will receive security arrangements directed by the Shin Bet starting Sunday. The domestic security agency announced that a private firm will guard the leader under the direct instruction of its Unit 730. This arrangement marks a reversal of an earlier decision that Eisenkot did not meet the criteria for such protection.

Shin Bet chief David Zini initially determined in August that Eisenkot lacked the necessary threat profile for Unit 730 oversight. That assessment changed in September after the Advisory Committee for Personal Security reviewed updated intelligence and threat evaluations. The committee then recommended that the agency take charge of the leader's security. The Yashar party noted in September that no security detail had been assigned despite Zini's subsequent approval.

The agency approved a specific set of measures for party leaders who do not hold public office. These measures include an intelligence oversight and support framework provided by intelligence units. The protocol also grants permission for hired security teams to carry weapons and requires coordination between the Shin Bet and those private teams. The agency will conduct periodic situation assessments to gauge the threat level facing each leader.

The Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs granted Zini the authority to set these security arrangements. This authorization applies to party leaders who are not otherwise entitled to state protection and remains in force until the next Knesset is sworn in. The Shin Bet stated that the agency has denied immediate protection to other petitioners at this stage.

Yair Golan, chairman of The Democrats, requested similar protection by citing a threat level comparable to Eisenkot's. The agency has not granted him immediate security arrangements. Eisenkot's protection begins Sunday morning under the new operational framework.