Pardo, 57, previously unknown to the Israeli public because of the secretive nature of his post, replaces Meir Dagan who retires in December after eight often controversial years in the job.

"Pardo served for many years in senior positions in the Mossad. In his last position he served as deputy Mossad chief," said a statement from Netanyahu's office.

The announcement comes on a day when Israel's arch-foe Iran blamed the Mossad for killing a top Iranian nuclear scientist and acknowledged its nuclear activities had come under cyber-attack in a move widely blamed on Israel.

Mossad never comments on claims that it conducted specific operations, but is widely believed to be waging a shadowy war to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, something Israel considers to be an existential threat.

Iran denies its nuclear programme has a military aim, saying it is for peaceful purposes only.

Mossad's work also focuses on battling groups that Israel designates as terrorists, particularly Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah, and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, all supported by Iran.

Netanyahu expressed confidence that Pardo would rise to the challenges as the head of one of the world's most vaunted espionage agencies.

"Pardo has rich experience of dozens of years in the Mossad and he is sure that he is the right man to lead the organisation in the next few years given the complicated challenges that face the state of Israel," the statement said.

Netanyahu's office said Pardo, a father of two and a grandfather, joined the agency as an operative in 1980 before being given his first command in 1988.

In 1998 he was appointed head of the Mossad's operations directorate and later twice served as deputy Mossad chief, the statement said.

He was also a veteran of the military's elite reconnaissance unit.

Israeli media reported that he served under Netanyahu's brother Yonatan in the 1976 raid on Entebbe, Uganda, where Israeli commandos freed passengers from a hijacked Air France jet. Yonatan Netanyahu was killed on the mission.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak, himself a former commando and army chief, praised Pardo as a partner in many missions.

"I have known Tamir for dozens of years and we took part in many operations together," Barak said in a statement.

"He is a professional with a rich operational experience, common sense and responsibility. He is worthy and very suitable to serve as Mossad head."

Pardo replaces Dagan, whose tenure was widely credited with several high profile operations, but also tinged with scandal over the killing in Dubai of Mahmud al-Mabhuh, a top militant of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Dubai police chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan has said he is 99 percent sure the Mossad was behind the killing and that, if so, Dagan should face prosecution.

Khalfan released security footage of the agents said to have participated in the attack which earned Israel reprimands from Western countries like Britain, Ireland and Australia over the use of fake passports in the hit.

But Dagan has also had reported successes, including the February 2008 car bombing in Damascus which killed Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughnieh.

Fingers also pointed to the Mossad after the September 2007 bombing of a suspected desert nuclear site in Syria and a December 2008 air raid on a truck convoy in Sudan allegedly carrying Iranian-supplied weapons destined for the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip.

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