Netanyahu defies SC order to appoint ex-Navy commander Eli Sharvit as next ISA director

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu picked former navy commander Eli Sharvit to be the next head of the domestic security agency, his office said Monday, despite the supreme court freezing the dismissal of the incumbent.

“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 said Sharvit had served in the military for 36 years, including five years as a 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.

Netanyahu’s government moved to oust agency chief Ronen Bar on March 21, after previously citing an “ongoing lack of trust.”

But after petitions filed by Israel’s opposition and a non-governmental organisation, the supreme court suspended the government’s dismissal of Bar.

According to the court, the freeze will remain in place until the appeals are presented before April 8.

Attorney General Gali 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’s relationship with the Netanyahu government was strained after he blamed the executive for the security fiasco of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

It was further strained by a Shin Bet investigation into a case dubbed in media reports as “Qatargate” over alleged covert payments to a Netanyahu aide from Qatar.