Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially rescinded the appointment of former naval chief V.-Adm. (ret.) Eli Sharvit to head the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), his office announced on Tuesday.
The prime minister thanked Sharvit for his willingness to take on the role, but informed him that after further consideration he intended to explore other options.
Sharvit said, "I was asked by the Prime Minister to take on the role of head of the Shin Bet and to continue serving the State of Israel at this difficult time - and so I did. This is out of full confidence in the ability of the Shin Bet to meet the complex challenges that have arisen in these days, and a humble belief in my abilities to lead it to this end."
Netanyahu had previously stunned the country twice on Monday, first rolling Sharvit as the new head of the Shin Bet, only to have anonymous aides of his suggest later in the day that the pick might be withdrawn.
At press time, it was still not clear whether Netanyahu would stick with Sharvit as his new candidate to run the agency or whether he would opt for another name.
Due to a petition to the High Court of Justice, any new appointment will not go into effect before April 8 in any case, and may be further delayed.
In initial reactions from Shin Bet sources to The Jerusalem Post, Sharvit was so unknown that most of them had little to say, despite a clear sense of shock that Netanyahu had not only refrained from appointing a deputy Shin Bet chief to the role (which has been customary in recent decades), but that he had taken someone outside of the agency and even outside of IDF ground forces.
All hints from Netanyahu spokespeople until Monday had been that the four final candidates for the role were: recent deputy Shin Bet chief "M", an earlier deputy Shin Bet chief Yair "Rolly" Sagi, former Shin Bet high command official Shalom Ben Hanan, and former Mossad high command official who had also served extensively in the Shin Bet Eyal Tzir Cohen.
It was known that Netanyahu was interviewing other candidates, but none of them had been taken seriously by the media and no one had named Sharvit.
Who is Eli Sharvit, Netanyahu's prior pick to head the Shin Bet?
Netanyahu's choice of Sharvit seemed to be a sign not only that he does not trust the current Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, who the government is trying to fire, but that he also does not trust the top tiers of the agency, and seeks to bring in an outsider disrupter to wrestle greater control over it.
However, there is nothing in Sharvit's public record to indicate that he would be an ideological disrupter who would disrespect top Shin Bet officials, other than that he is not close to them since the navy and the agency have little to do with one another.
Sharvit served 36 years in the Israeli Navy, including as chief of staff from 2014-2016 and commander from 2016 until 2021. As commander, Sharvit led the development of maritime defense capabilities for Israel’s economic waters and directed complex operational campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, the PMO said early Monday.
"The Prime Minister is convinced that Maj. Gen. Sharvit is the right person to lead the Shin Bet forward and uphold the organization’s proud legacy," the PMO added early Monday.
However, by Monday afternoon, many Likud and coalition officials, some anonymously and some publicly, were attacking Sharvit.
Some attacks related to his participation in protests against the judicial overhaul, while others related to some public criticism he had made of the Trump administration.
By later in the afternoon, leading Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham was publicly calling for Netanyahu to drop Sharvit.
At the same time, there were some parties on the Left who said that even if he was technically qualified, there was a cloud of suspicion over the fact that he was accepting the role at a time when Netanyahu's firing of Bar was seen as highly controversial.
Some legal officials even implied that Netanyahu was using Sharvit to soften potential High Court resistance to firing Bar.
It was not clear whether Netanyahu would go back to the original shortlist of four candidates, or opt for some other darkhorse and unknown candidate.
The firing of Bar has sparked mass protests across the country, with many considering the move a direct threat to democracy.
Netanyahu and Bar have been in a public war of words for the last six weeks since Bar’s Shin Bet opened a probe into top aides of the prime minister regarding the scandal known as Qatargate.
Qatargate refers to allegations that top Netanyahu aides were paid funds by Qatar in a way that could have impacted their handling of national security matters, including the hostage negotiations with Qatar and Hamas.
Netanyahu has also sought to shift blame from himself for failure to stop the October 7 disaster on the Shin Bet and the IDF, seeking Halevi and then Bar's resignations, in order to highlight that blame.
High Court Justice Gila Kanfi-Steinitz wrote last week that she “did not see the need” to expand a temporary injunction freezing the firing of current head Bar such that it included a prohibition to interview new candidates. This effectively rejected the position of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, according to which the prime minister could not take any action that could affect Bar’s status, including interviews of new candidates.
This means that Netanyahu can name a new agency chief, but that the new candidate cannot take office before the April 8 High Court hearing.
The High Court may allow the new candidate to take office, may block his appointment due to Qatargate, or may seek a compromise allowing Bar to conclude the Qatargate probe, while allowing the new candidate to move into office as quickly as possible.