Security Shift: Unit 730 Oversees Yashar Leader's Private Guard

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, will begin operating under a new security protocol on Sunday morning. A private security firm will provide his personal guard, but that team will function under the direct command of Unit 730 within the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service.

The arrangement marks a reversal of earlier positions by the agency. In August, Shin Bet Director David Zini ruled that Eisenkot did not satisfy the requirements for elite protection. That decision shifted in September when the Advisory Committee for Personal Security reviewed new intelligence and threat assessments. The committee subsequently advised the agency to take a supervisory role.

Despite Zini's eventual approval, the Yashar party reported in September that no specific security detail had been assigned to Eisenkot at that time. The new directive resolves that gap by placing a hired private team under state intelligence oversight starting this weekend.

The Shin Bet outlined a wider framework for political figures who hold no elected office. This includes an intelligence support structure, authorization for private security personnel to carry weapons, and regular coordination between state agents and party-hired guards. These measures remain active until the next Knesset is sworn in.

The Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs granted Zini the authority to define these terms for party leaders who lack automatic state protection. Not all applicants have received the same treatment. Yair Golan, head of The Democrats, requested similar protection by citing a threat level equivalent to Eisenkot's. The agency has rejected his immediate petition.