Shin Bet said to rage against Bennett for releasing Jewish terror suspect
Eliya Ben David
Times of Israel staff report:
The Shin Bet internal security agency was reportedly livid at Defense Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday for ordering the release of a Jewish terror suspect from administrative detention on Tuesday — a day after he signed the order to arrest him.
Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina alliance, canceled the extraordinary measure to detain Eliya Ben David following an outcry by far-right lawmakers and activists.
“The decision to cancel the detention order, which the minister himself had signed and approved, lends support to extremist activities on the ground,” Channel 12 news quoted Shin Bet sources saying.
“They [the extremists] are likely to interpret this as a move meant to weaken the security services’ operations against Jewish terror and to raise the motivation for violent and illegal action,” they added.
The sources warned of a repeat of the 2015 attack in Duma, where three Palestinian members of a family were killed in a firebombing — allegedly by Jewish extremists. The Shin Bet sources said the detention recommendation was based on “high-quality intelligence about a high level of danger posed by [Ben David].”
Bennett on Wednesday responded to the Shin Bet criticism, saying at a campaign event in Ramat Gan that he “greatly appreciates the work of Shin Bet personnel.”