TEL AVIV - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to announce Thursday the appointment of Yuval Diskin as the new General Security Service chief.
Diskin is set to replace current GSS chief Avi Dichter in May and assume the new position at a particularly sensitive junction - the scheduled Gaza pullout.
Dichter, meanwhile, is set to retire after 29 years in the security establishment. The move comes in accordance with a new law restricting the GSS chief to one five-year term.
Security officials were reportedly surprised after Sharon announced Dichter would be leaving his position following the end of his term. The security establishment was convinced Dichter's term would be extended for an extra year to help implement the Gaza pullout plan.
The decision to appoint a new security chief is believed to have stemmed from tensions between Sharon and Dichter, as well as the latter's stance on the Gaza disengagement.
A new chief
Diskin, in his late 40's, entered the GSS as a field agent in the West Bank and rose through the ranks without taking any shortcuts.
Previous positions he held included heading the counter-terror division, and the Jerusalem department. He was also in charge of the agency's Arab division, which included maintaining secret ties with Palestinian security officials .
Diskin also served as deputy chief to Dichter from 2000-2003, before leaving the agency to further his studies.
During his time as deputy chief, which coincided with the beginning of the intifada, Diskin was also responsible for developing the "targeted killing" doctrine used to eliminate wanted Palestinians terrorists.
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