Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu picked former navy commander Eli Sharvit to head the domestic security agency, his office said Monday, despite the supreme court freezing the incumbent’s dismissal.
Netanyahu moved to oust current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on March 21, after citing an “ongoing lack of trust” in the head of the agency. But after petitions filed by Israel’s opposition and a non-governmental organisation, the supreme court suspended the dismissal of Bar, whose relationship with the government strained after he blamed the executive for the security fiasco of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
“After conducting in-depth interviews with seven worthy candidates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to appoint former Israel navy commander, Vice-Admiral Eli Sharvit as the next director of the ISA (Shin Bet),” his office said in a statement.
It remains unclear how and when Sharvit will formally assume leadership of the agency given the supreme court ruling on Bar’s dismissal is still pending. Netanyahu’s office said Sharvit had served in the military for 36 years, including five as navy commander.
“In that position, he led the force building of the maritime defence of the territorial waters and conducted complex operations against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran,” the statement said. In its initial ruling, the supreme court said the freeze would remain in place until the appeals are presented before April 8.
“Things are proceeding in parallel as the supreme court allowed him to interview candidates for the post while legal proceedings are still on in the court,” a legal expert on the issue told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The question of how legal is the dismissal (of Bar) is still pending in the supreme court and it could still be cancelled by the court.”
The expert said Netanyahu, by choosing the next Shin Bet chief was “establishing facts on the ground”. “It might be an attempt to influence the court.”
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