On May 15, 2005, he was appointed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to replace Avi Dichter as the Director of the Shabak. In 2006, the Shabak's major concerns were suicide attacks, obtaining highly accurate intelligence, and assessing the situation in regards to the elections in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Diskin and the Shabak were among the few people in the Israeli security forces who predicted Hamas winning the elections. Later that year, Diskin warned about the increasing rate of smuggling in the Philadelphi Route, which was under Egyptian control, and stated that in two years the Gaza strip would become a "Lebanon". In accordance, the Shabak focused on improving its technological, operational and intelligence-gathering capabilities at the Egyptian border.