With Mossad Director David Barnea and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having already agreed that he would conclude his role at the end of his five-year term in June 2026, the race to succeed Barnea is already on, with "A" being the lead candidate.
The Jerusalem Post has learned that "A" is not only the leading candidate for Netanyahu, but is also supported by key portions of the agency.
Until and unless A actually wins the appointment, his name will remain anonymous.
Other candidates also include "H", and as an outside shot, some have spoken about Netanyahu's military secretary, IDF Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman.
Some have already criticized the prospect of A. being head of the Mossad as he has neither been deputy Mossad chief nor the Mossad headquarters chief, considered the number three post in the organization.
In fact, some of the critics are from within the Mossad itself, the Post understands.
How is 'A' different than David Zini?
However, the Post understands that despite some outside and internal criticism, "A" is viewed as extremely talented by some top officials within the Mossad and a solid candidate for being the next chief, separate entirely from the question of Netanyahu's potential political calculations.
In this way, though "A' may not be a breakout consensus candidate, "A" is also not the same as David Zini, who was purposely brought in by Netanyahu from the IDF high command as a complete outsider to run the Shin Bet, including potentially cleaning house of agency officials who might conflict with the prime minister's priorities.
To that extent, if there are efforts now to promote "A to become deputy Mossad chief to add to his resume before Barnea steps down in six and a half months, key top officials within the agency do not oppose the move.
Barnea himself is said to be ready to hand over the reins following the highly successful beeper operations against Hezbollah and a wild series of sabotage operations against Iran and its nuclear program.