Shin Bet

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Shabak emblem "Defender who shall not be seen"
Shabak emblem "Defender who shall not be seen"

The Shabak (help·info) (Hebrew: שב"כ‎, an acronym for Sherut Bitahon Klali (Hebrew: שירות ביטחון כללי‎), lit. General Security Service), commonly known as the Shin Bet,[1] is Israel's internal security service. Its motto is "Magen VeLo Yera'e" (Hebrew: מגן ולא יראה‎, lit. Defender that shall not be seen). It is one of three principal organizations of the Israeli Intelligence Community, alongside Aman (the military intelligence of the IDF) and Mossad (responsible for overseas intelligence work).

Contents

[edit] Duties and roles

Shabak's duties are:

[edit] Legal status and methods

Shabak relies mainly on HUMINT to gather information and intelligence.[citation needed] It uses informants from the local population in order to gather intelligence about planned attacks or about the location of opposition leaders.[citation needed] Shabak has overwhelming success with informants, managing to target the top leaders of the Palestinian terrorist organizations—including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. The killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abed al-Aziz Rantissi shows how deeply Shabak has penetrated into the Palestinian militias.[citation needed] As a result, the Palestinian groups, mainly the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, have killed many countrymen suspected of being collaborators.

Shabak also extracts information by interrogating suspects. In 1987, after complaints about excessive use of violence in interrogations of Palestinian prisoners, the Landoy Committee (headed by a former Supreme Court President) prepared a two-part report on Shabak's interrogation methods. Only one part was made public. It revealed that the Shabak regularly used violent methods of interrogation and that Shabak agents were tutored to lie in court about how evidence was uncovered. The committee report also gave guidelines for future interrogations, but most of the details were in the secret part of the report. The open part revealed that the guidelines allowed Shabak to apply "moderate physical pressure" in the case of "necessity". In 1994, State Comptroller Miriam Ben-Porat, in a report not made public until February 2000, found that during 1988–1992, "Violation of the Landoy Commission and the GSS regulations continued to be widespread in the interrogation facility in Gaza and, to some extent, in other facilities.… Veteran and senior investigators in the Gaza facility carried out severe and systematic violations. Senior GSS commanders did not prevent these violations."[2]

In 1999, the Israeli Supreme Court heard several petitions against Shabak methods. It found that these included: (1) "forceful and repeated shaking of the suspect's upper torso, in a manner which causes the neck and head to swing rapidly," (2) manacling of the suspect in a painful "Shabach position" for a long period of time, (3) the "frog crouch" consisting of "consecutive, periodical crouches on the tips of one's toes," and other methods. The Court ruled that Shabak did not have the authority, even under the defense of "necessity," to employ such methods.

In the Justice Ministry, the Department For Special Roles, there is a senior investigator who checks complaints about Shabak interrogations. Shabak claims that it is now basing its interrogations only on psychological means. However, organizations such as B'Tselem and Amnesty International still accuse Shabak of employing physical methods that amount to torture under international conventions.

In 2002, the Knesset passed a law regulating the activity of Shabak. The law ruled that:

  • The Prime Minister of Israel is in charge of the Shabak and carries ministerial responsibility for its activity. The head of the Shabak answers to the prime minister.
  • The Shabak head will serve five years in duty, unless there is a state of emergency.

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

With the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948, the Shabak was founded as a branch of the Israel Defense Forces and was initially headed by Isser Harel (the father of Israeli Intelligence, who later headed the Mossad). Responsibility for Shabak activity was later moved from the IDF to the office of the prime minister. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Shabak's responsibilities included only internal security affairs. It was only later that its responsibilities were extended to counter-espionage and the monitoring of Israeli Arabs.

[edit] Early days

In the beginning, as part of efforts to prevent anti-state activity, the Shin Bet monitored pro-Soviet opposition parties suspected of supporting the Soviet Union over Israel if the Cold War were to become an active full-scale war. The political leadership, headed by David Ben-Gurion, silenced publications that dealt with these activities. Only Uri Avneri successfully published about these activities in the Haolam Hazeh newspaper. A great controversy was created when two Shin Bet agents were caught installing a bugging device in Meir Yaari's office (Yaari was the leader of Mapam — a Socialist Zionist party with favorable views of the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin).

One of the Shabak's most important successes, though often incorrectly attributed to Mossad, was to obtain a copy of the secret speech made by Nikita Khrushchev in 1956, in which he denounced Stalin. A Polish edition of the speech was provided to the Israeli embassy in Warsaw by the boyfriend of the secretary of a Polish communist official. The Shabak's Polish liaison officer conveyed the copy to Israel. The Israeli government then decided to share the information with the United States, which published it with Israeli approval.

Up until the Six-Day War, the Shin Bet continued to focus on counter-espionage and monitoring political activity among the Israeli Arabs. Shabak's most notable achievement in counter-espionage was the 1961 capture of Israel Bar, who was revealed to be a Soviet spy. Bar was a Lieutenant Colonel in the reserves, a senior security commentator and close friend of Ben-Gurion and reached high Israeli circles. Bar was tried and sentenced to ten years in prison (which was later extended by the Supreme Court to fifteen years, following his appeal), where he died. In the same year, Kurt Sita, a Christian German from the Sudetenland and a professor in the Technion, was revealed as a Czechoslovakian spy.

[edit] Post Six-Day War

Medal given to Shabak workers on the 40th anniversary of the state of Israel, 1988.
Medal given to Shabak workers on the 40th anniversary of the state of Israel, 1988.

After the Six-Day War, Shabak efforts to monitor terrorist activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip become a more dominant part of the organization activity, and today, it is considered to be the major part of Shabak's mission. Yeshayahu Leibowitz warned that the control over the territories would turn Israel into a "Shabak state". However, Shabak imposed restrictions on itself in order not to harm democratic values or separation of authorities and to prevent the risk that Shabak will be used in a totalitarian manner.[citation needed]

[edit] Years of crisis

During 1984–1986, Shabak experienced a major crisis following the Kav 300 affair in which two terrorists who hijacked a bus and took hostages were executed without trial by Shabak officers, who later covered up the event and gave false testimonies. Following the affair, Shabak head Avraham Shalom was forced to resign.

The event resulted in the Landoy committee, which regulated Shabak interrogation methods.

In 1995, a crisis followed the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Following the Shabak's failure to protect Rabin, Carmi Gillon was forced to resign. Later, the Shamgar investigation committee learned of serious flaws in the personal security unit and the provocative and inciting behavior of Avishai Raviv — an agent provocateur of the Shabak's Jewish Unit. Raviv created a "photoshopped" picture of Rabin in an SS uniform, and presented it in the infamous Zion Square demonstration in Jerusalem prior to Rabin's murder. Raviv was acquitted from accusations of encouraging Yigal Amir to kill Yitzhak Rabin.

Gillon was replaced by outside "import", Israeli Navy admiral Ami Ayalon. Ayalon rehabilitated Shabak after Rabin's murder and worked hard to restore its reputation with the general public.

In 1996, a unit of the Shabak assassinated Hamas chief bombmaker Yahya Ayyash by planting an explosive device in his cellular phone. The operation was carried out after an instruction by then Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

[edit] Second Intifada

 This section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.(October 2007)

In 2000, Ayalon ended his five-year term, and was replaced by veteran Shabak official, Avi Dichter. Dichter, an ex-Sayeret Matkal commando and an experienced Shabak agent, tightened the working relationship with the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli police. Foreign press hinted that Shabak is working tightly with the elite Israeli counter-terror unit, Yamam.

Dichter was in charge when the al-Aqsa Intifada erupted. He managed to react quickly to changes and turn Shabak into a prominent player in Israel's war against Palestinians after the collapse of the 2000 Camp David Summit.

The Shin Bet is most known for its role in the conflict with Palestinians. The Shin Bet produces intelligence which enables the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent suicide bombings before they reach their destinations. This is usually done by preventive arrests and deploying road blocks when there is a serious alert.

In addition to preventing suicide bombings from the West Bank by arrests and special operations, Shabak is working tightly with the Israeli Air Force in order to pinpoint and kill terror masterminds and terrorist leaders by precision air strike. The targets are field commanders and senior leaders of Palestinian militant factions (which many consider to be terrorists), mainly those of Hamas, but also of the Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Fatah and even one Al-Qaeda linkman (Iad Al-Bik). These assassinations, called "targeted killings", are usually done by helicopter gunships, where both IAF commanders and Shabak agents sit together in the command center monitoring the operation. Shabak's task is to give intelligence when and where the target will be available for a strike and then reacting to IAF drone feedback and ensuring the men on the sight are indeed the wanted terrorists (this part is called "identification and incrimination").

Shabak's effective activity during the second Intifada boosted its reputation both among the Israeli public and counter-terror experts.[3]

[edit] 2003 to 2006

In November 2003, four former heads of Shin Bet (Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri, Carmi Gillon and Ami Ayalon) called upon the Government of Israel to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.[4]

Avi Dichter is one of the chief supporters of building a defence barrier opposite to the Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israeli government began building the Israeli West Bank Barrier in 2003. Dichter has since said that the barrier "is working" and helps to prevent and reduce terror attacks.[5][6]

In February 2005, Ariel Sharon announced that Yuval Diskin, a veteran Shabak field agent, senior negotiator with Palestinian officers and mastermind of the "targeted killings", will replace Dichter after he ends his five-year term. On May 15, 2005 Diskin entered into office after Dichter left with great applause from the press, the politicians, and the public. Dichter has joined the political arena and is now a member of the Kadima party, founded by the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

In September 2006, the Shin Bet launched its first-ever public recruitment drive with the creation of a Web site. The employment campaign, coming on the heels of a newly approved defense budget, is targeting computer programmers.

[edit] Rising profile

Once considered a commitment to lifelong anonymity and even invisibility in Israeli society, today a Shabak agent who achieves high rank in the service, especially the director, is considered a candidate for membership in the top brass of the Israeli government and business community. This process follows a trend started by ex-generals and colonels of the Israel Defense Forces, the trailblazers including Moshe Dayan, Ariel Sharon, and Yitzhak Rabin. In the Shabak and the foreign intelligence Mossad service, the trend showed up much later (during the mid-1990s), even though Isser Harel (who served as head of both services) and Meir Amit of the Mossad both served as lawmakers.

Ex-Shabak directors today are increasingly visible as candidates for higher office. Yaakov Peri became the chairman of Bank HaMizrahi in 2002, and also became a highly visible guest on television programs. Carmi Gillon serves as Chairman of the Local Council of Mevaseret Zion, a Jerusalem suburb, while Avi Dichter and Ami Ayalon were at one time leading candidates for defense minister (Dichter for the Kadima party formed by prime minister Ariel Sharon, Ayalon on the Labour party ticket). Dichter eventually became Minister of Internal Security in the current government led by Ehud Olmert. Ayalon has attracted widespread following as a co-initiator with Palestinian dignitary Sari Nusseibeh of the non-governmental Peoples' Voice initiative to petition the governments in Israel and the Palestinian Authority for a permanent settlement.

In 2007, the service launched its first ever public recruitment drive, unveiling a "slick Web site" and buying on-line ads in Israel and abroad in a campaign aimed at "attract[ing] top-tier computer programmers" to its "cutting-edge" IT division. On March 18, 2008, it was announced that Shabak's official website would also offer a blog, where four of its agents would discuss anonymously how they were recruited, and what sort of work they perform; they would also answer questions sent in by members of the public[7]. The decision to launch the blog was made by the Shin Bet's top brass, including head Yuval Diskin, and is part of an attempt to attract hi-tech workers to the agency's growing IT department. According to Shabak officers, the Web site and blog are aimed also at promoting a more accessible and positive public image for the secret service, long associated with "dark, undercover and even violent activity"[8].

[edit] Criticism

[edit] Torture

On 6 May 2007 two Israeli human rights organizations, B'Tselem and Hamoked, released a report in which they charged Shabak with continuing its torture techniques despite the 1999 court ruling. The report is based on testimony from 73 prisoners who were in Shabak custody between March 2005 and July 2006. The report provides descriptions of these techniques, all of which the report claims are classified as torture under international law: physical beatings, painful binding, back bending, body stretching and prolonged sleep deprivation.[9]

Furthermore, the report criticizes the lack of accountability within the Shabak stating that despite over 500 complaints of abuse made to the attorney's office since 2001, no criminal investigation was launched as complaints are investigated by a member of the Shabak. [3]

[edit] Controversial detainings

Jewish-American political scientist and author Norman Finkelstein was denied entry to Israel in May 2008 when the Shin Bet said he was "not permitted to enter Israel because of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon" and also because he "did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions."[10] Finkelstein said that he had been questioned by the Shin Bet and had answered truthfully, while the Shin Bet said they were not persuaded that Finkelstein answered their questions fully.[10] Finkelstein, who has been to Israel 15 other times, was banned for 10 years and said he has no intention of appealing the decision.[11] The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said "the decision to prevent someone from voicing their opinions by arresting and deporting them is typical of a totalitarian regime" and that a democratic state "does not shut out criticism or ideas just because they are uncomfortable for its authorities to hear".[12]

Salah Haj Yihyeh, an Israeli who runs mobile clinics for Physician for Human Rights, was detained for questioning by the Shin Bet. In the questioning, Yihyeh answered questions about the activities of the organization, its budget, the identity of its donors, and details about others employed by PHR. The board of Physicians for Human Rights, in a letter to Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, rejected the "crossing of a red line in a democracy." The letter argued that since the only cause for calling an employee of the group was to scare him, the tactics were unacceptable and illegal.[13]

[edit] Lists and tables

[edit] Important events in Shabak history

  • 1948: Founded as the Shin Bet, one of the three secret services in Israel along with the Military Intelligence and Foreign Intelligence (later, the Mossad).
  • 1956: Obtained a copy of Khrushchev's speech denouncing Stalin.
  • 1961: the Shabak exposé of Doctor Israel Bar as a Soviet spy.
  • 1972: Exposure of a Jewish-Arab Espionage and Terror Network.
  • 1984: The Kav 300 Affair: Two terrorists hijacked a bus and after IDF SF and Shabak regained control over the bus, Avraham Shalom ordered the killing of the two terrorists who were captured alive, and Danny Yatom knocked their skulls in with a brick. The officers involved tried to cover this up.
  • 1987: The Izat Nafsu affair: An officer was cleared from spy charges, and Shabak was highly criticized for its methods and norms.
  • 1995: The assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir, the failure of Shabak to prevent it, and the subsequent resignation of its chief, Carmi Gillon, who was abroad at the time.
  • 1996: Shabak assassinates Hamas top bomb-maker Yahya Ayyash, "The Engineer".
  • 2000–2005: The Second Intifada erupts and Shabak main role in intelligence gathering and counter-terror efforts is highly regarded by Israeli security forces and Israeli public opinion alike. Avraham Dichter received high credit for Shabak's part in the targeted killing of Palestinian militant groups' leaders and the thwarting of hundreds of suicide attacks.

[edit] Heads of the Shabak

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Shabak" is the official term now used by the Israeli government. However, both in English-language Western and Israeli press and publications, it is usually refereed to by its original Hebrew name, the "Shin Bet."
  2. ^ A/55/373 of 11 September 2000
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ Israel's hard men fight for peace | World news | The Observer
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ Barrier 'has prevented 20 Palestinian attacks' - Telegraph
  7. ^ BBC: Israel's Shin Bet launches blog
  8. ^ Jerusalem Post:Shin Bet security agency launches blog
  9. ^ B'Tselem - Publications - Absolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-Treatment of Palestinian Detainees, May 2007
  10. ^ a b Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Israel turns away academic Finkelstein
  11. ^ Haaretz: Who's afraid of Finkelstein?
  12. ^ Guardian: US academic deported and banned for criticising Israel
  13. ^ Haaretz: Physicians for Human Rights official detained by Shin Bet

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

[edit] Other

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[ru:Шабак]