From the Liveblog of
Monday, April 7, 2025
Ex-Shin Bet chief: Netanyahu asked me to ‘disqualify’ Bennett from cabinet over ‘loyalty problem’ while he was IDF officer
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Former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked him to “disqualify” Naftali Bennett from his cabinet by revoking his security clearance, citing a case of an unspecified “loyalty problem” while he was serving in the army.
Cohen served as head of the Shin Bet from 2011 to 2016. It is unclear exactly when, during the successive Netanyahu cabinets at that time, the request was made.
“The prime minister called me privately and told me, ‘Listen, information came to be recently about Bennett. He was removed as an officer of the IDF General Staff due to a loyalty problem — so he can’t sit in cabinet,'” Cohen tells Army Radio, adding the prime minister did not even ask him to confirm the case.
“He asked me to disqualify him from the cabinet because of this, due to security clearance. I said to him, ‘Tell me, are you serious about this demand?’ Firstly, why is something from 30 years ago relevant to what we are talking about now? Secondly, I will not do anything like this,'” Cohen recounts.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says in response that the interview is “no less than an earthquake.”
“Netanyahu tried to use the Shin Bet in order to fabricate plots and eliminate a political opponent. This is not how a prime minister behaves, this is how the head of a criminal organization behaves,” Lapid writes on X.
The Times of Israel Community.