Manama: The Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested that the Shin Bet security service continue to guard him for 15 years after he leaves office.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported that under existing rules, the Shin Bet provides the prime minister with security for just five years after he leaves office and other dignitaries receive protection for a shorter period of time.
Netanyahu also proposed that other people, who he said are privy to the state's top secrets, including the defence minister, the Israel defense forces chief of staff, the head of military intelligence, the director of the Atomic Energy Commission and the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet, receive the same privilege.
The prime minister included these officials in his request so that it would not appear to be an attempt to gain perks for himself at the taxpayer's expense, Haaretz reported. The newspaper did not say why he made the request however.
