Israel PM Netanyahu names new security chief, defying Attorney-General

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on May 22 his pick for the next head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, defying the country’s Attorney-General and a significant segment of the public.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu announced this evening his decision to appoint Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet,” a statement from the premier’s office said.

The decision is the latest development in a long-running controversy surrounding the role, which has seen mass protests against the incumbent chief’s dismissal, as well as against moves pushed by Mr Netanyahu’s government to expand elected officials’ power to appoint judges.

The supreme court on May 21 ruled the government’s decision to fire current domestic security chief Ronen Bar was “improper and unlawful”.

Mr Netanyahu’s move to tap Mr Zini to replace Mr Bar directly defied Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who had said that, given the court ruling, the premier “must refrain from any action related to the appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet”.

Mr Netanyahu immediately responded in a rare press conference that his government would make an appointment despite Ms Baharav-Miara’s stance.

Following the May 22 announcement, the Attorney-General released a statement saying that the prime minister was acting “contrary to legal guidance”.

“There is serious concern that he acted while in a conflict of interest, and the appointment process is flawed,” the statement said.

New court challenge

Mr Zini, the son of immigrants from France and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, has held “many” operational and command positions in the Israeli military, the May 22 announcement said, including for some elite units and combat brigades.

The announcement comes after more than two months of political and legal wrangling over who should head the powerful agency.

In March, Mr Netanyahu said that he was dismissing Mr Bar due to “ongoing lack of trust”.

The move was challenged in court by non-profit organisations and the political opposition, which decried it as a sign of anti-democratic drift on the part of Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing government.

Following May 22’s announcement, opposition leader Yair Lapid called on “General Zini to announce that he cannot accept his appointment until the Supreme Court rules on the matter”.

The NGO Movement for Quality Government in Israel, meanwhile, said it will file a legal petition “in the coming days against this invalid appointment, and will continue to stand firm against attempts to defy the legal system and the rule of law”.

Mr Bar himself suggested that his ouster was linked to investigations into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack “and other serious matters”.

He has since said he will step down in June.

Ms Baharav-Miara has suggested Mr Netanyahu’s conflict of interest in removing Mr Bar stems from a case, dubbed “Qatargate” by Israeli media, involving close advisers to the premier under investigation for allegedly receiving money from the Gulf emirate, which has long hosted the political office of Hamas.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on May 22 that “the authority to appoint the head of the Shin Bet is legally granted solely to the prime minister – and it is good that the prime minister exercised this authority and appointed a very worthy individual”. AFP