Mossad unit head quits – fourth official to resign since Barnea took over agency

The commander of Mossad’s “Caesarea” special operations division has reportedly quit due to disagreements with director David Barnea.

The officer, who can only be referred to by the Hebrew initial Bet, resigned after a heated meeting with Barnea, in which the latter said the unit and its subordinates have “became a burden on the organization,” Channel 13 news reported on Sunday.

The report said that due to the difficulties operating Israeli agents around the world, Barnea wanted to make significant organizational changes to the division that Bet was unwilling to implement.

Barnea took over as director of the intelligence agency from Yossi Cohen in June.

Along with Bet, Bet’s deputy and several operatives also resigned. A new commander for the unit has been appointed.

Bet is the fourth senior Mossad official to quit the organization since Barnea took office about seven months ago.

He was preceded in his resignation by the head of the technology division, the head of operations and the head of the branch dealing with the anti-terror war. All held ranks equivalent to that of major-general in the Israel Defense Forces.

That report said the resignations were directly linked to organizational decisions made by Barnea to divide up responsibilities in the spy agency and split existing branches.

Barnea served as a combat soldier in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit and has been in the Mossad for the past 25 years, including in prominent operational roles that saw him rise to lead the branch that handles the organization’s agents worldwide. He was appointed Cohen’s deputy in 2019.