Israeli Security Forces - Shin Bet
The Shabak (in
Hebrew, שב"כ "Shabak" an acronym of "Sherut ha-Bitachon ha-Klali" שירות
ביטחון כללי) known abroad as the Shin Bet or the GSS (General Security
Service), is the Internal General Security Service of Israel. Its motto
is "מגן ולא יראה" whose translation is: "Defender (Shield) who shall not
be seen". The service consists of close to 5,000 employees.
The Shabak duties
are:
* Upholding the state security against those who seek to undermine it by
terrorist activity or violent revolution.
* Expose terrorist organizations of Israeli civilians (both Jewish and
Arab).
* Interrogations of terror suspects.
* Providing intelligence for counter-terrorism operations in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.
* Counter-espionage.
* Protect the lives of senior public officials (see also: bodyguards).
* Secure important infrastructure and government buildings.
* Ensure the security of El-Al, Arkia and Israir flights and Israel's
embassies abroad.
One of the Shin Bet's roles is to protect the lives of senior Israeli
ministers and public servants (such as the President of Israel). The
Shin Bet is also responsible for preventing the funding of underground
movements and terror groups whose members are Israeli citizens. It
accomplishes this goal by using interrogations and secret agents (HUMINT).
Legal status and methods
The Shabak relies mainly on HUMINT to extract information and gather
intelligence. It uses informants from the local population in order to
gather intelligence about planned terror attacks or about the location
of terror leaders. Shabak had overwhelming success with informants,
managing to target the top terror leaders of the Palestinian terror
organizations - including hardliners such as Hamas and the Islamic
Jihad. The killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abed al-Aziz Rantissi
shows how deeply Shabak has penetrated into the Palestinian militias. As
a result, the Palestinians groups, mainly the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
started lynching suspected collaborators and killing them on the street
without a trial.
Shabak also extract information by interrogating suspects. Until the
1980's Shabak used controversial methods, which included beatings.
However, in 1987, after complaints about excessive use of violence in
interrogations of Palestinian prisoners, the Landoy Committee (headed by
chief supreme judge) published a report setting criteria for lawful
interrogation methods. The report allowed Shabak to apply "moderate
physical pressure" only in the case of "a ticking bomb" - i.e. a
terrorist attack which is about to occur soon, and urgent efforts must
be taken in order to thwart it. In 1999 the Israeli Supreme Court (Bagatz)
discussed Shabak interrogation methods and ruled that physical pressure
is not allowed. In the Justice Ministry, the Department For Special
Roles, there is a senior investigator who checks complaints about Shabak
interrogations. As a result, Shabak is now basing its interrogations on
psychological means and has become very effective in applying
psychological pressure. However, complaints about physical pressure
continue.
In 2002 the Israeli Knesset passed a law, regulating the activity of
Shabak. The law ruled that:
* The Prime Minister of Israel is in charge of the Shabak and carries
ministerial responsibility for its activity. The head of the Shabak
answer to the prime minister.
* The Shabak head will serve 5 years in duty, unless there is a state of
emergency.
* Interrogation methods: this part was not made public.
History
Foundation
With the declaration of Israeli Independence, the Shin Bet was founded,
as a branch of the Israeli Defence Forces, and was headed by Isser Harel
(the father of Israeli Intelligence, who later headed the Mossad).
Responsibility for Shin Bet activity was later moved from the IDF to the
office of the prime minister. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that was
declared against Israel following the Israeli independence, the Shin
Bet's responsibility included only internal security affairs. It was
only later that its responsibilities were extended to Counter-espionage
and the monitoring of Israeli Arabs (Arabs who remained in Israel after
the 1948 war of Israeli independence and who were granted Israeli
citizenship).
Early days
In the beginning, as part of the efforts to prevent undermining
activity, the Shin Bet also monitored pro-Soviet opposition parties,
which were suspected of supporting the Soviet Union over Israel if the
Cold War would become an active full scale war. Today, this kind of
activity is considered harming to democracy. The political leadership,
headed by David Ben-Gurion, made sure to silence publications that dealt
with those activities, which were published only in Haolam Hazeh
newspaper by Uri Avneri. A great controversy was created, when two Shin
Bet agents were caught installing a bugging device in Meir Yeari's
office (Yeari was the leader of Mapam - a Socialist Zionist party, but
with favorable reviews on the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin).
Up until the Six Day War, the Shin Bet continued to focus on
counter-espionage and monitoring terrorist activity among the Israeli
Arabs. Shabak's most notable achievement in counter-espionage was the
capture of Dr Israel Bar in 1961 who was revealed to be a Soviet spy.
Bar was a Lieutenant Colonel in the reserves, a senior security
commantator and close friend of Ben-Gurion, and reached high Israeli
circles. Bar was tried and sentence to life in prison, where he died. In
the same year, Kurt Sita, a Christian German from the Sudets and a
professor in the Technion, was revealed as a Czech spy.
After the Six Day War
After the Six Day War, Shabak efforts to monitor terrorist activity in
the occupied territories become a more and more dominant part of the
organization activity, and today it is considered to be the major part
of Shabak's mission. Yeshayahu Leibowitz warned that the control over
the territories will turn Israel into a "Shabak state". However, Shabak
imposed restrictions on itself in order to not harm democratic values,
separation of authorities and to prevent the risk that Shabak will be
used in a totalitarian manner.
Years of crisis
During 1984-1986 Shabak went into a major crisis following the Kav 300
affair in which two terrorists who hijacked a bus and took hostages were
executed without trial by Shabak officers, who later covered up the
event and gave false testimonies. Following this affair, Avraam Shalom
(then the head of Shabak) was forced to resign.
The event resulted in the Landoy committee, which regulated Shabak
interrogation methods.
In 1995 a crisis followed the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister
Itzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir. Following the Shabak's failure to protect
Rabin, Carmi Gillon was forced to resign. Later, the Shamgar
investigation committee learned of serious flaws in the personal
security unit and the provocative and inciting behavior of Avishay Raviv
- an Agent provocateur of the Shin Bet Jewish Unit. Raviv obtained a "photoshopped"
picture of Rabin in an SS uniform, created by two Chabaniks, and
presented it in the infamous Zion Square demonstration in Jerusalem
prior to Rabin's murder.
Gillon was replaced by outside "import", Israeli Navy admiral Ami Ayalon.
Ayalon rehabilitated Shabak after Rabin's murder and worked hard to
restore its reputation with the general public.
In 1996, a unit of the Shabak assassinated Hamas chief bombmaker Yahya
Ayyash by planting explosive device in his cellular phone. The operation
was carried out after an instruction by then Prime Minister Shimon
Peres.
During the al-Aqsa Intifada
In 2002, Ayalon ended his 5-years term and he was replaced by veteran
Shabak official, Avi Dichter. Dichter, an ex-Sayeret Matkal commando and
excell Shabak agent, restored Shabak good reputation and tighten the
cooperation with the Israeli Defence Forces and the Israeli police.
Foreign press hinted that Shabak is working tightly with the Israeli
elite CT unit YAMAM.
Dichter was in charge when the al-Aqsa Intifada erupted. He managed to
react quickly to changes and turn Shabak into a prominent player in
Israel's war against Palestinian terrorism which plagued Israeli cities
after the collapse of the 2000 Camp David Summit.
The Shin Bet is most known for its role in the conflict against
Palestinian terrorists. The Shin Bet produces intelligence which enables
the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to prevent suicide bombings before they
reach their destinations. This is usually done by preventive arrests and
deploying road blocks when there is a serious alert.
Beside of preventing suicide bombings from the West Bank by arrests and
special operations, Shabak is working tightly with the Israeli Air Force
in order to pinpoint and kill terror masterminds and terrorist leaders
by precision air strike. The targets are field commanders and senior
leaders of Palestinian militant factions (which Israel consider as
terrorists), mainly those of Hamas, but also of the Islamic Jihad, the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Fatah and even one Al-Qaeda linkman (Iad
Al-Bik). These assassinations, called "targeted killings", are usually
done by helicopter gunships, where both IAF commanders and Shabak agents
sit together in the command center monitoring the operation. Shabak task
is giving intelligence when and where the target will be available for
strike and then reacting to IAF drone feedback and ensure the men on the
sight are indeed the wanted terrorists (this part called "identification
and incrimination").
In addition, Shabak uncovered dozens of terrorist group within the
Israeli Arab population - most were guided by the Iranian-Lebanese group
Hizbullah and by Palestinian terrorist factions such as al-Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israeli Arabs usually used as
spies, bomb-transporters and suicide bombers transporters, and seldom
carried out attack themselves.
Some consider the quality and quantity of the intelligence gathered by
the Shin Bet among the best of the world's secret service agencies.
Shabak effective activity during the second Intifada boosted his
reputation both in the Israeli public and among counter-terror experts.
Current events
In November 2003, four former heads of Shin Bet (Avraham Shalom, Yaakov
Peri, Carmi Gillon and Ami Ayalon) called upon the Government of Israel
to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Ami Ayalon, along with Palestinian professor Sari Nusseibeh, launched
the National Census peace initiative.
Avi Dichter is one of the chief supporters of building a defence barrier
against suicide bombers in the West Bank. The Israeli government began
building the Israeli West Bank Barrier in 2003. Dichter has since said
that the barrier 'is working' and helps to prevent and reduce terror
attacks.
In February 2005, Ariel Sharon announced that Yuval Diskin, a veteran
Shabak field agent, senior negotiator with Palestinian officers and
mastermind of the "targeted killings", will replace Dichter after he
ends his five-year term. On May 15, 2005 Diskin entered into office
after Dichter left with great applauses from press, politicians and
public.
Lists and tables
Important events in Shabak history
* 1948: the Shabak is funded as a Shin Bet and is one of the three
secret services in Israel along with the Military Intelligence and the
Foreign Intelligence (later, the Mossad).
* 1961: the Shabak expose Doctor Israel Bar as a Soviet spy.
* 1984: the Kav 300 Affair, two terrorists hijacked a bus and after IDF
SF and Shabak regained control over the bus, Avraam Shalom ordered the
killing of the two terrorists who were captured alive. The officers
involved tried to cover this up.
* 1987: the Izat Nafsu affair, when an officer was cleared from spy
charges, and Shabak was highly criticized for his methods and norms.
* 1995: the assassination of Itzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir and the failure
of Shabak to prevent it.
* 1996: the Shabak assassinates Hamas top bombmaker Yahya Ayyash.
* 2000-2005: the al-Aqsa Intifada and Shabak main role in intelligence
gathering and counter terror efforts. Avraam Dichter received high
credit for Shabak part in thwarting hundreds of suicide bombings and
hitting terror leaders.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Bet
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