Jewish Department, who was responsible for photo-montage pictures
of Rabin in Nazi SS uniform displayed at a right-wing rally, intended
to provoke and inflame the audience. Following the assassination, ISA
director Carmi Gillon(1995–1996) was forced to resign. Still, toward
the end of his directorship, the ISA had scored a success with the
killing of Hamas’s chief bomb maker Yahya Ayashby planting an ex-
plosive device in his cellular phone. The operation had been carried
out on the instructions of Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Gillon was re-
placed by reserve admiral Ami Ayalon(1996–2000), a nominee from
outside the ISA ranks. Ayalon successfully accomplished the ISA re-
habilitation necessary after Rabin’s assassination and strove to regain
its fine reputation. The improvement continued under Ayalon’s suc-
cessor, Avraham (Avi) Dichter(2002–2005). The ISA tightened co-
operation with the IDF and the Israel Police, especially the elite police
unit known by its Hebrew acronym Yamam (Yehidat Mishtara
Meyuhedet).
After the 1993 Oslo Accords, the ISA was obliged to undergo a
technological revolution and a complete change of its work methods.
It adapted itself to collecting intelligence in areas over which the IDF
no longer held control under the Oslo agreement. In addition, the ISA
initiated cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.
During the Palestinian uprising known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada,
which erupted in the fall of 2000 after the collapse of the Camp
David Summit, the ISA reacted speedily to the Arab violence. Since
then, it has become a prominent player in Israel’s war against the
Palestinian terrorism that has plagued Israeli cities. The ISA produces
intelligence permitting the IDF to stop some of the suicide bombers
before they reach their destination. This is usually done by preventive
arrests and the deployment of roadblocks when there is a serious
alert. The ISA cooperates with the Israel Air Force (IAF) to pinpoint
and kill terror masterminds and terrorist leaders by precise air strikes.
The targets are field commanders and senior leaders of Palestinian
militant factions whom Israel considers terrorists, mainly those of
Hamas but also of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Mar-
tyrs’ Brigades, and Al-Fatah; there has even been one Al-Qaeda fa-
cilitator, Iyad Al-Bik. These assassinations, or “targeted killings,” are
usually executed by helicopter gunships. IAF commanders and ISA
agents sit together at the command center monitoring the operation.132 • ISRAELI SECURITY AGENCY/SHERUTH BITAHON KLALI06-102 (03) H-P.qxd 3/24/06 7:24 AM Page 132