The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) will oversee Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot's security starting Sunday, according to an announcement from the party.
"Starting tomorrow morning, Sunday, party chairman Gadi Eisenkot will be secured by a private security company that will be directly instructed and operated by Unit 730 of the Shin Bet," the announcement said.
Shin Bet protection for party leaders
The decision follows a months-long battle to secure Shin Bet protection for political party leaders.
In August, Shin Bet chief David Zini initially ruled that Eisenkot did not meet the requirements needed to qualify for the elite Unit 730 protection.
After reviewing updated intelligence and threat assessments on the Yashar party chairman in September, the Advisory Committee for Personal Security recommended that the Shin Bet oversee Eisenkot's protection.
Despite Zini's approval of security for Eisenkot, Yashar told The Jerusalem Post in September that no security detail had yet been assigned to him.
The Shin Bet said Zini had approved a series of measures to provide security to party leaders, which included intelligence units providing an intelligence oversight and support framework for the party leaders, authorization for security teams hired by party leaders to carry weapons, coordination between the Shin Bet and said security teams, and conducting periodic situation assessments to evaluate the threat level for each party leader.
The Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs authorized Zini to determine the security arrangements required for party leaders who do not hold public office and are not otherwise entitled to state protection. The authorization remains in effect until the next Knesset is sworn in.
The Democrats' chairman, Yair Golan, also petitioned for Shin Bet protection, citing a threat level similar to Eisenkot's; however, the Shin Bet has denied him immediate protection at this stage.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Keshet Neev contributed to this report.