Outgoing Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin
Photo: Noam Moskowitz
Diskin bids farewell to Shin Bet
Outgoing Shin Bet Chief says his goodbyes to Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, wishes replacement 'best of luck'. Serving State of Israel was his 'greatest privilege,' he says
The Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said goodbye to the outgoing Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin Sunday. At the start of the committee meeting, Diskin congratulated his replacement Yoram Cohen saying:
"Yoram is a professional man of the highest merit, humble, idealistic and I'm sure that he'll know how to lead the organization with professionalism, fulfill his purpose and I wish him the best of luck."
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Diskin looked back on his six years in office and said that his "greatest privilege was to serve the State of Israel. The second greatest privilege was to stand at the head of an organization with so many people with the readiness to serve their country.
"It is no small thing. It is the source of great pride and I wish to thank them and tell them that they are amazing people and that their work is exceptional. Mostly, I just tried to keep out of their way."
During Diskin's term in office the Shin Bet reduced the extent of terror attacks dramatically, "I'm proud of that fact," Diskin told the committee members, "it's the 'glass half full', the 'glass half empty' is the fact that over 160 Israelis were killed and 2,300 were injured during my term in office.
"I'm proud of the fact that the organization managed to lower the number of suicide bombings which, at the beginning of the decade, barely left any room for a normal existence."
During the meeting, the Committee Chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) addressed the recent escalation in the Gaza Strip. "Hamas has become significantly stronger, relative to its situation before Operation Cast Lead and certainly after," said Mofaz and noted that the main reason for this was the fact that Israeli the Israeli deterrent is worn out.
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