Former Shin Bet official and coordinator for hostages and missing persons Yaron Blum slammed the proposal for extended protection of the Netanyahu family during a Thursday interview on 103 FM.

The prime minister's wife, Sara Netanyahu, asked a ministerial committee for security coverage lasting her entire lifetime and received approval only until the end of Benjamin Netanyahu's life.

Blum rejected the request outright, insisting it bore no relation to actual circumstances.

"Deciding protection for anyone for 20 years, whether it concerns Sara Netanyahu or Sara Cohen, changes nothing. The idea is irrelevant, unserious and delusional," he stated.

"Such extensions for prime ministerial relatives remain the rarest exceptions. The ministerial committee that approved this step includes Netanyahu, Yariv Levin, Israel Katz, Itamar Ben Gvir and Yoav Kisch. Three-quarters of them possess little expertise in security matters or Shin Bet operations," Blum noted.

Blum further faulted Shin Bet chief David Zini for yielding to pressure and endorsing lifetime safeguards.

Reversal of the ruling would prove challenging

He stressed that once finalized, the decision would resist later modification.

"This committee faces no appeal process and wields vast authority. Twenty years makes no sense. Yet threats from enemy states, Iran, proxy groups, Islamic Jihad and global jihad do target the prime minister's family. Hostage-taking or revenge attacks remain plausible today. That element of the security picture holds logic now, but lifetime coverage does not," Blum explained.

He added that only designated state symbols and select ministers qualify for such arrangements.

"Protection covers escorts, a driver and a dedicated vehicle. This demand exceeds standard Shin Bet practice. Unit 730 safeguards the seven state symbols: the prime minister, president, Knesset speaker, Supreme Court president, defense minister, foreign minister and opposition leader," Blum clarified.

"Ministers and deputies fall under the Magen unit within the Prime Minister's Office, where that office alone decides assignments. The current request lacks precedent and logic, and it is unlikely to proceed," he concluded.

Blum urges Shin Bet role against growing crime

Blum next turned to rising crime within Arab communities and a fresh plan to involve the Shin Bet alongside police forces.

"Absolutely. I understand this issue thoroughly. Twenty percent of Israel's residents are Arab citizens. The great majority seek integration. Many of my acquaintances fail to grasp this point, yet they desire peaceful lives and fear crime families," he said.

"Police have struggled against crime families since losing key tools such as Pegasus," Blum warned, noting the risk of wider spillover.

"The problem reaches us already. We imagine it stays distant, yet it has arrived. Residents view murders on their cameras, hesitate to report them and sometimes assist in cleaning scenes," he added.

"The Shin Bet cannot step in without a change to its governing law. That law must be updated. Involvement in protecting state symbols, such as a local council head, would alter the situation," Blum said.