Shin Bet

The Israel Security Agency for counterintelligence and domestic security

Overview

The Shin Bet, also called Shabak, was chartered secretly in the early 1950s to protect the state from espionage and terrorism. It runs agent networks, interrogations, and protective security for officials and aviation. The 1984 Bus 300 affair, in which two captured hijackers died in custody after a beating, exposed a coverup that a public inquiry later documented, prompting accountability reforms. Israeli courts review aspects of its detention practices, a landmark in oversight of the service. It completes the Israeli triad alongside Mossad and Aman.