PM asks Shin Bet's Diskin to stay on for another year

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Yuval Diskin, the head of the Shin Bet security service, to continue in his post for an additional year. Diskin has agreed, said the Prime Minister's Bureau.

Diskin started the job in May 2005 and was scheduled to finish in May 2010. The General Security Service Law proscribes a five-year term for the head of the Shin Bet, but allows the cabinet the option of extending it for a period of no longer than a year under exceptional circumstances. The cabinet will be asked to approve the extension at its next meeting on Sunday.

Netanyahu said the complex security and policy challenges facing Israel justified the extension, and the prime minister says it is very important for Diskin to remain in his post. Netanyahu also praised the Shin Bet for its achievements in recent years and noted Diskin's many efforts in Palestinian and other matters.

Along with the security challenges facing Israel, there is another factor behind Netanyahu's request to Diskin: The feeling, shared by other senior political and defense figures, that the Shin Bet has yet to produce an internal candidate to replace Diskin.

Over the past decade, it was customary for two senior Shin Bet officials to serve as deputy chiefs, one after the other, during the Shin Bet head's period of service, and these two candidates were competing to replace him. Diskin's present deputy is D., who was preceded by Y., who spent the last year studying and doing research in the United States. Neither is considered a particularly likely candidate to inherit the post.

Another year for Diskin may allow other candidates to be considered, even if they are somewhat less experienced: G., at present the Shin Bet's representative in Washington, and R., who was recently appointed the head of the service's southern region. Another possibility is to bring in an outsider, such as an Israel Defense Forces general.

Diskin's extension would follow that of Mossad chief Meir Dagan, who was given an eighth year in July by the cabinet. Dagan is scheduled to end his tenure at the end of 2010, if he is not asked to stay on even longer. The head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, recently agreed to stay on a fourth year in his post, until mid-2010. Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi will retire in February 2011.