Former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen said Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once asked him to revoke the security clearance of political rival Naftali Bennett to prevent him from participating in the Security Cabinet.
Cohen, who was appointed by Netanyahu in 2011 and served until 2016, said the prime minister told him at the time that he had received information regarding Bennett’s "questionable loyalty," allegedly linked to his removal from the elite Sayeret Matkal special operations unit during his military service.
Cohen said Netanyahu did not ask him to verify the claims. “He asked me to bar him [Bennett] from participating in the Cabinet, as though he lacked security clearance,” Cohen recalled. “I asked him if he was serious. I questioned how something from 30 years ago could be relevant and told him I would do no such thing.”
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During Cohen’s tenure as the head of the Shin Bet, Bennett held multiple ministerial roles and served on the Security Cabinet.
“I want to explain something,” Cohen added. “Is it not shocking that a prime minister would ask the head of the Shin Bet to use his authority to sideline a political rival? I refused—but what if someone else in that position agrees?”
Cohen made the remarks in an interview with Army Radio, a day before the High Court of Justice is set to rule on whether Netanyahu’s attempt to dismiss current Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar is lawful or constitutes a conflict of interest. The case follows a Shin Bet investigation into close advisors to Netanyahu, who are suspected of acting on behalf of Qatar while serving under him.