Ex-PMs Barak, Olmert to get bodyguards back amid reported fear of Iran attacks
Ministerial committee expected to approve security detail for up to 20 years for former premiers, after Barak said warned of potential threat overseas
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Former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert are set to be provided with full time security details, Israeli television reported Tuesday, amid reported concerns that Iran may try to target prominent Israelis traveling overseas.
According to Hadashot TV news, the Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs will convene Wednesday, when it is expected to restore the security details of the former premiers.
Former prime ministers currently receive government-provided security guards for five years in Israel after their terms end, as well as a security detail for seven years when traveling abroad. Neither Barak, who lost the premiership in 2001, nor Olmert, who resigned in 2009, still have security details.
The ministerial committee is expected to approve providing security for up to 20 years for former prime ministers, the report said.
On Monday, Hadashot reported that the head of the Shin Bet domestic security service last week visited Barak’s home to discuss the latter’s personal safety.
קרנפים יש גם בציריך – אבל פה הם תקועים ברחוב ולא עובדים אצל ראש הממשלה ???? pic.twitter.com/GoYD3PTwgN
— אהוד ברק (@barak_ehud) June 11, 2018
The unusual meeting between Barak, who is also a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff, and Nadav Argaman took place on short notice.
Barak, a well-known figure in Israel and overseas, frequently travels abroad without security. He sometimes carries a sidearm, the TV report said.
Neither Barak nor the Shin Bet responded to a request for comment.
Current IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot also made a visit to Barak at his home six months ago, and attracted criticism for the unusual meeting.
The Iranian leadership regularly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently vowing the Jewish state will soon “perish.”
Security has reportedly been increased recently at Israeli and Jewish facilities in several countries, amid fears of Iranian attempts to retaliate for reported Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria.
Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge on Israel after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program. Iran used the T-4 base to launch an attack drone carrying explosives into Israel in February; the drone was shot down.
In May some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria, sparking the largest ever direct clash between Jerusalem and Tehran, with Israeli jets targeting numerous Iranian-controlled sites across Syria.
In response, Israel launched an extensive retaliatory campaign, striking suspected Iranian bases throughout Syria for hours following the initial Iranian bombardment.
Israel was also accused of carrying out a strike in Syria on a weapons depot of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, in which eight Iranians were among 15 foreign pro-regime fighters killed.
Iranian-proxy Hezbollah has been blamed for attacks against Israelis abroad that have caused dozens of deaths over the years.
Iran orchestrated the July 18, 1994, bomb that destroyed the headquarters of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), leaving 85 dead and 300 people wounded.
The Times of Israel Community.