In one of his first official acts in office, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday extended the tenure of Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman for an additional month.
Argaman, who entered the job in May 2016, will now stay on until at least October as the head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency.
Bennett and Argaman met for their first official work meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office since Bennett became prime minister on Sunday. Bennett also met Tuesday with Mossad chief David Barnea for the first time since becoming premier.
According to the PMO, Argaman presented Bennett with an overview of the Shin Bet’s activities and the status of the areas in which it operates. Bennett received a similar intelligence briefing from Barnea on the Mossad’s operations.
In April, then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended Argaman’s tenure by four months, through September. The announcement came following a report in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that Netanyahu had planned to appoint his national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, as the new director of the agency, a move Defense Minister Benny Gantz refused to agree to.
Now that a new government has been installed, a new permanent successor to Argaman can be appointed, although it does not appear to be at the top of Bennett’s agenda.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat hold consultations on February 24, 2020. (Government Press Office)
Earlier this month, Argaman issued a rare warning about the incitement and violent discourse that was swirling across Israel ahead of Bennett’s ousting of Netanyahu as premier.
“We have recently identified a serious rise and radicalization in violent and inciting discourse, specifically on social media,” Argaman said, warning that such online speech could lead some groups or individuals to violence.
Angry protests and death threats against many lawmakers, particularly those in Bennett’s Yamina Party, prompted enhanced security protection for many MKs.
“This discourse may be interpreted among certain groups or individuals as one that allows violent and illegal activity and could even lead to harm to individuals,” Argaman said in early June.
“It is our duty to come out with a clear and decisive call for an immediate cessation of the inciting and violent speech,” Argaman added. “The responsibility for restraining the discourse rests on the shoulders of us all.”
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