Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday said that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) is always one step ahead of the country's enemies due to its advanced technology.
Speaking at a ceremony honoring the Shin Bet's 2021 achievements, he also said that countries from all over the world are coming to learn how the counter-terror agency combats terrorism.
He said, "the advanced technologies which the agency is developing always keep the State of Israel one step ahead of the enemy."
"Intelligence agencies from all over the world visit here on a regular basis to learn from Israel's Shin Bet how we fight against a set of broad terror threats, which no Western state has to confront," said Lapid.
"Advanced technologies which the agency is developing always keep the State of Israel one step ahead of the enemy."
Prime Minister Yair Lapid
Lapid's praise of Shin Bet
The prime minister commented on how the agency has shown creativity in a variety of areas, leading to breakthroughs in both intelligence collection and operations thwarting terror attacks.
He honored seven specific anonymous Shin Bet agents or members of other intelligence services who were part of agency-led operations for their special contributions to the collection and operational achievements.
One specific operation he noted was the agency's uncovering Hamas' vast West Bank terror network and thwarting its plans to carry out attacks in both Judea and Jerusalem while arresting around 60 terrorists.
Lapid noted that part of what makes the agency so unusual is its diverse tasks, with its activities to prevent terror in Jenin and Nablus being very distinct from its efforts to defend the country in the cyber arena.
Also, its efforts to protect Israel from threats emanating from Gaza - specifically mentioning its huge contribution during Operation Breaking Dawn - are very different from its actions to save lives potentially endangered by actors like Iran, Hezbollah and others (he did not mention specific names, but other Shin Bet agents have in public remarks.)
He also directly thanked Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar for his leadership of the organization.