Eisenkot to get Shin Bet protection after recent security incidents
Agency to provide bodyguards for Yashar Party leader, replacing private firm that it was overseeing; move comes after protest outside his home, woman found lurking in building
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, the de facto head of the anti-Netanyahu bloc, will be given a Shin Bet security detail starting Wednesday, according to Hebrew media reports on Tuesday, following a lengthy saga over the issue.
The Shin Bet has long resisted providing its own security detail to Eisenkot despite repeated urging by his party. First, the agency only agreed to allow Eisenkot’s private guards to carry arms. Days before last week’s election, Eisenkot was given protection by a private company directly guided by the Shin Bet’s Unit 730, which provides security details to top Israeli officials.
However, there have been several incidents around Eisenkot’s personal security in recent days.
On Sunday, an unidentified woman entered the Herzliya building where Eisenkot resides and spent several minutes trying to locate his apartment, Channel 12 reported. Her motivations were unclear, and the incident was said to be under investigation.
Eisenkot was away at the time, but his wife, Hannah, was home.
Earlier the same evening, demonstrators outside the home called Eisenkot a traitor and accused him of being responsible for the death of his own son, Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Eisenkot, who was killed fighting in Gaza in December 2023. Gal Eisenkot was killed in December 2023, while Eisenkot was serving as a member of the security cabinet. In addition to Eisenkot’s son, two of his nephews — Cpt. Yogev Pazy, 22, and Sgt. Maor Cohen Eisenkot, 19 — were killed in the war.
Footage from the incident showed a man repeatedly shouting through a megaphone, “You murdered your son.”
The protester also directed threats and insults at Eisenkot’s wife, Hannah, telling her, “You will be next to your son.”
According to Channel 12, the protest outside the Eisenkot home continued for several hours, only ending at around 9 p.m. No arrests were made.
Yashar later said it filed a formal complaint with the Israel Police, alleging that the man, whom Hebrew media identified as Yossi Cohen, a bereaved father, had threatened Eisenkot and his wife with “murder.”
In August, the Public Advisory Committee for Personal Security advised that Eisenkot should be protected by the Shin Bet, while the service said it did not possess intelligence justifying such a move. Ultimately, the Shin Bet did not provide security for him.
His staff has repeatedly urged the agency to provide protection, citing what it said were growing threats against him both online and in public as the October 27 election approached.
Days before the vote, the Shin Bet began overseeing protection for three opposition party leaders, Eisenkot, the Democrats’ Yair Golan, and People of Israel leader Ofer Winter.
Two other top opposition figures, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, the leader and No. 2 of the B’Yachad party respectively, are both also former prime ministers and therefore already have Shin Bet protection.
The election left both the outgoing coalition and the opposition short of a majority. Winter’s party did not clear the threshold for entry into the Knesset. Amid the deadlock, the anti-Netanyahu parties are attempting to chart a pathway to forming a government, with several party leaders backing Eisenkot for the first chance to form a coalition.
While the opposition will hold a majority of 67 in the 120-seat Knesset, it is split between Jewish-led parties with 48 seats and Arab-led parties with 19. Netanyahu’s outgoing coalition will hold 53 seats.