Netanyahu names Eli Sharvit as next Shin Bet chief amid legal battle
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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu appoints Eli Sharvit as Shin Bet chief to replace Ronen Bar, whose dismissal is on hold pending an April 8 court hearing amid legal and political tensions.
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Vice Adm. Eli Sharvit arrives on board the Israeli Navy Ship Atzmaut in the Mediterranean Sea, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021 (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to appoint former Navy commander Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit as the next head of the Shin Bet, his office announced.
Sharvit has been selected to succeed Ronen Bar, whom the Israeli cabinet formally voted to dismiss earlier this month.
Despite the dismissal, Bar remains in office under a temporary injunction imposed by the High Court of Justice. While the court has frozen Bar’s removal, it has permitted Netanyahu to interview potential successors.
According to a statement by Netanyahu's office, the premier conducted interviews with seven candidates before selecting Sharvit. His appointment will now be reviewed by a vetting committee before being submitted to the cabinet for final approval.
The statement highlighted Sharvit’s leadership in designing naval defense capabilities and overseeing complex operations against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.
“The Shin Bet is an organization with much credit to its name,” Netanyahu's office emphasized, stressing that it “underwent a severe trauma on October 7.”
Netanyahu, according to the statement, is "convinced that Sharvit is the right person to lead the Shin Bet on a path that will continue the organization’s glorious tradition.”
The last time a navy commander was appointed to lead the Shin Bet was Ami Ayalon, who took office following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
It remains unclear how and when Sharvit will formally assume leadership of the agency.
Earlier this month, the Israeli government voted to remove Bar, a decision that sparked widespread protests.
Netanyahu stated that he had lost confidence in Bar following the Palestinian Resistance's October 7, 2023, attack.
But after petitions filed by "Israel's" opposition and a non-governmental organisation, the Supreme Court suspended the government's dismissal of Bar.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the government is also seeking to remove, warned that Bar’s dismissal could face legal challenges. One factor complicating the decision is an ongoing Shin Bet investigation into alleged links between Netanyahu’s top aides and Qatar.
Baharav-Miara had said immediately after the March 21 ruling that Netanyahu was "prohibited" from appointing a new Shin Bet chief.
But Netanyahu insisted it was up to his government to decide who heads the domestic security agency.
Bar has vowed to remain in his position until all Israeli captives held in Gaza are returned and a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 incidents is established—an inquiry the government opposes.
The High Court has scheduled a hearing on the petitions challenging Bar’s dismissal for April 8.
Read more: 'Israel' Business Forum says to paralyze economy over Bar’s dismissal
