The Shin Bet is considering providing an armed security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former minister and ex-IDF chief whose Yashar party is leading in most opinion polls ahead of the October 27 election, Channel 12 reports.
Eisenkot is not formally entitled to a state-issued security detail because he is not a “symbol of the state,” the report notes, but Shin Bet chief David Zini is weighing providing security for him as the election campaign heats up and amid indications that Iran is stepping up efforts to harm Israeli leaders.
Zini could alternatively seek to arrange a security detail for Eisenkot via the IDF or the Knesset Guard, the report says.
Eisenkot’s field director wrote to Zini at the end of June noting that the Yashar leader has been forced to hire private bodyguards to protect him. The TV report said these bodyguards are not armed.
The June letter also noted that Eisenkot would be particularly exposed as the election campaign gathers pace, with the Yashar leader regularly making public appearances whose details are advertised ahead of time.
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