Israel has become “the strongest power in the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday at a ceremony honoring Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) employees.

The Jewish state has “changed the entire balance of deterrence and power” thanks to the steadfastness of its people and the professionalism of its security forces, Netanyahu said at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, where 14 outstanding Shin Bet employees received an award for their work.

“The service’s contribution in thwarting over 1,200 terrorist attacks is unimaginable and largely unknown,” Netanyahu said at the event, which was attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Shin Bet chief David Zini.

“Because if those 1,200 attacks had happened, everyone would understand it. But we have reached the highest level of threat alerts ever—and the lowest number of attacks carried out,” said the premier.

Netanyahu said he saw the determination and confidence in the eyes of servicemen whose plans he sometimes authorizes. He recalled one encounter with an agent he didn’t name. “I look into his eyes and ask him: ‘Will you carry this out? Are you confident in the execution?’ And I tell you, as the one who must make the decision, I look him in the eyes—and if he even blinks slightly, we reconsider. But if he looks back and says with confidence, ‘Prime Minister, I can do this. We will succeed,’ that’s when we proceed.”

The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, failed to warn ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel by some 6,000 Hamas terrorists, who murdered some 1,200 people that day and kidnapped another 251.

Subsequently, confidence in the organization declined in society: A Tel Aviv University poll of 953 respondents in March found a 65% confidence level among Jews compared to 75% in a similar poll from 2022. Netanyahu has also said he lacked confidence in the Shin Bet’s previous head, Ronen Bar, whom he fired.

Netanyahu’s appointment of David Zini to replace Bar, which became official on Sept. 30, was controversial, with opposition-affiliated groups opposing it and challenging it in court, citing an alleged conflict of interest on Netanyahu’s part. Netanyahu and others dismissed these allegations, with some calling the opposition anti-democratic.

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