Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that David Barnea has been selected to serve as the next director of the Mossad intelligence agency, following outgoing head Yossi Cohen.
Barnea, 56 and a father of four, will officially become Mossad chief on June 1.
He joined the Mossad in 1996; from 2013 to 2019, he led the Tzomet Branch. He has served as the deputy chief since 2019.
Netanyahu noted that “every operation is more daring, imaginative and crazy than the one before it. James Bond has nothing on all of you! We are going to open cinemas in another few days, but no action film comes close to what the Mossad does.”
“These operations gather vital intelligence for the State of Israel,” he continued, “counter non-conventional weapons thwart terrorism and espionage, and forge new paths to peace and regional cooperation.”