On Independence Day, Shin Bet chief vows to fight the new enemy: Coronavirus

Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, in an Independence Day message, says the security agency is using all of its operational capabilities to combat Israel’s insidious new enemy, the novel coronavirus.

The Shin Bet has been running a controversial phone surveillance program to track carriers of the virus and alert those exposed to them.

“Right now, we are in a time of crisis,” he says. “Our struggle is not against a security threat, but rather a new enemy that is threatening our health, economy and society. The frontline today is the fight against the coronavirus.”

He says the Shin Bet “is taking part in the fight and is utilizing, for this aim, all of our operational, technological, and human capabilities.”

“This is not an ordinary mission and certainly not one we are accustomed to,” he says. “But at this time, it’s an inseparable part of the protection of national security.”