Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet: Former Mossad chief, Shabtai Shavit, passed away this noon at the age of 84 during a private vacation in Italy. Shavit is survived by his wife and three children.
Shabtai Shavit joined the Mossad in 1964 and served in various roles, including intelligence gathering in Iran and bringing Mossad captives back to Israel. He aided Kurdish rebels in Iraq and led the operation to capture Mordechai and Anunu.
In 1989, Shabtai Shavit was appointed as the head of the Mossad, becoming the last Mossad director whose name was kept secret during his tenure. Under his leadership, numerous high-profile targeted killings of Palestinian terror leaders were carried out, including the assassination of a high-ranking PLO official involved in the Munich Olympics massacre, and the elimination of the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Fathi Shkaki.
During his tenure, Shavit worked to expand and strengthen covert relations between the Mossad and various organizations and countries in the regional and global arena. He also contributed to the establishment of the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan.
In 1996, Shabtai Shavit retired from the Mossad but continued to be active in the field of security. In 2001, he served as a special envoy of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for unique relations with the Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman. Additionally, he held the position of President of the Mossad retirees association for many years. Later in his career, he served as the CEO of Maccabi Health Services and the Chairman of the security company "Athena."
May his memory be a blessing.
