Netanyahu finally said to pick a new national security adviser

Shin Bet southern division head 'M.' reportedly to helm PM's top advisory body, 18 months after Yossi Cohen left to head the Mossad

By ToI Staff 30 June 2017, 10:59 am
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister Office in Jerusalem, June 18, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly decided to appoint a national security adviser after a year and a half in which the position has gone unfilled.

The deputy adviser position is also unfilled.

According to the Israel Hayom daily, Netanyahu has chosen M., who currently serves as the head of the southern division of the Shin Bet. The names of Shin Bet officials below the rank of the organization’s chief are classified.

If M. is approved for the position by a state committee that approves appointments to senior public service posts, his name will be made public.

M. has served in several top posts in the Shin Bet, according to the report.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) with outgoing Mossad director Tamir Pardo (right) and incoming director Yossi Cohen, at a ceremony for the newly appointed Mossad head, in Tel Aviv, on January 6, 2016. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Netanyahu’s previous national security adviser, Yossi Cohen, was appointed director of the Mossad in early 2016. He was replaced by his deputy Yaakov Nagel, who served as acting adviser until he retired earlier this year.

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