We’ve just been given another example as to the excellence of Israel’s Shabak, also known as Shin Bet, security agency.
After all, on Monday, Israel announced the Shabak’s disruption of a complex smuggling plot involving a French diplomat and Palestinian terrorist groups.
The gist of the story, as Israel presents it, is that Romain Franck was using his diplomatic cover to supply Palestinian terrorist groups with firearms. Likely due to their intense surveillance of terrorist groups, the Shin Bet were able to identify Franck’s involvement.
The Israeli government then won the approval of the French government to waive Franck’s diplomatic immunity and he was arrested.
Still, this success is nothing new for the Shabak.
A highly capable and aggressive organization, the Shabak is sort of a mix of Britain’s Security Service (also known as MI5), the FBI, and the late Soviet-era KGB. Highly regarded both for its covert surveillance and investigative activities, the Shabak is also a notorious for its ability to recruit informants inside terrorist groups and extract concessions from high-level detainees.
Yet beyond the world of counterterrorism, the Shabak is also responsible for the protection of the Israeli prime minister and other top government officials.
And since the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in which a far-right fanatic walked up behind Rabin and shot him twice in the back, Shin Bet has taken no chances with its protective security arrangements. Unlike other western protective agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service, Shin Bet agents often operate in public with their assault rifles on full display.
When on foreign trips, the Israelis also request the highest-end counter-assault teams, such as Britain’s CTSFO team. And unlike some western protective agencies, Shin Bet always keeps a tight cordon around its protectees.
All of this speaks to one sustaining truth. A truth that all Israeli enemies are astute to: if you intend to do Israelis harm, be prepared for an unpleasant day.
