Netanyahu’s wife, children to receive additional year of Shin Bet protection
12-month extension granted despite advisory committee recommending it be extended by just 6 months or until the end of the war
The Ministerial Committee for General Security Service Affairs voted on Sunday to grant another year of Shin Bet security coverage to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara Netanyahu and their two sons, Avner and Yair.
The 12-month extension was granted despite a recommendation from the Advisory Committee for Personal Security that it be extended by only six months or until the end of the war, the Ynet news outlet reported on Sunday, after which the Netanyahu family’s security details would be transferred to the Magen security agency.
Magen, which operates under the Prime Minister’s Office, provides security to government ministers, while the Shin Bet’s Personal Security Unit generally only covers the president and the prime minister.
Following the advisory committee recommendation and ahead of the ministerial committee’s vote, the Shin Bet was reported to partially adjust its position and say that only Avner and Yair Netanyahu’s security teams should be transferred to Magen, and Sara Netanyahu’s should continue to be overseen by the Shin Bet.
In particular, the security agency noted that Yair Netanyahu has primarily resided abroad since March 2023, and therefore doesn’t need the same high-level security detail as he would were he in Israel.
“There are ministers more at risk than he is who are not protected by the Personal Security Unit,” the Shin Bet explained.
Last week, the prime minister’s eldest son drew ire after he was photographed on a backpacking vacation in Guatemala with two Shin Bet security guards in tow.
פפראצי בווינט יאיר נתניהו בנו של ראש הממשלה מבלה בימים אלו בגואטמלה עם מאבטחי שב"כ צמודים. מדהים pic.twitter.com/iZlDWVePzI
— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) June 23, 2024
Earlier in June, the Walla news site reported that Netanyahu had requested lifelong Shin Bet security details for his wife and two sons, to continue even once he is no longer prime minister.
The report alleged that Netanyahu had approached the advisory committee with the request, but was told that it would not be discussed further “at this time.”
The Prime Minister’s Office denied the report, saying that it was “full of lies and slander about the Netanyahu family and the prime minister.”
The decision to grant Shin Bet protection to Netanyahu’s wife and children was initially approved in March 2023 after hundreds of anti-government protesters massed outside a Tel Aviv hair salon while Sara was inside, leading her to claim that she had feared her life was in danger.
