Israeli local media reported yesterday, that Internal Israeli security service, Shin Bet, identified several points of failure in the way it completed the background check of Defence Minister Benny Gantz’s cleaners.
An internal investigation into the spying allegations filed against Omri Goren, a cleaner who worked at Gantz’s home, on Monday ordered that two members of the internal security agency be reprimanded, the Times of Israel reported.
Goren was arrested last month after being suspected of spying on Gantz for Iran. According to his lawyer, Goren admits to spying but said: “Who says it was the Iranians? It was hackers on Telegram.”
The newspaper reported Shin Bet saying it identified “professional failures in the way that Omri Goren’s security check was conducted.”
“There were lacunae found in the oversight processes that should have discovered the mistake after it happened.”
In order to avoid such failures, the Shin Bet said it had tightened its protocols regarding people who work with protected individuals.
“Our quick response notwithstanding, we failed in identifying the risk posed by the cleaner employed by the Gantz family,” Ynet News reported Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar saying. “This allowed us the opportunity to review our hiring process and introduce improvements to our methods of securing officials under our protection.”