Supreme Court Justices Isaac Amit, Gila Kanfi-Steinitz, and Alex Stein on Sunday granted the government and the Attorney-General’s Office 48 hours – until Tuesday – to reach a compromise on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to appoint IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) David Zini as the director of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), following a hearing last Tuesday.
The decision came after a closed-door meeting between the justices, Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs, and lawyer Aner Hellman from the Attorney-General’s Office.
At present, leading the intelligence agency is Deputy Director “S.”
The tense High Court of Justice hearing on Tuesday concerned the question of legality and authority in Netanyahu’s proposal. The sticky issue surrounds investigations that the agency, along with the Israel Police, is conducting into Qatari influences on figures close to the prime minister.
Per the Attorney-General’s Office’s stance, Netanyahu cannot have anything remotely to do with the investigations, including appointing the agency’s next director. The office suggested a workable framework to advance Zini’s appointment, which would circumvent Netanyahu’s involvement, by designating another minister to lead the project.
Last week, two separate groups of petitioners presented counterarguments to the court on the matter. First, they stated that a legal process is not necessary and would be a hindrance in this case, and that a permanent appointment is of utmost concern.
Further, they stated that since the government unanimously supported Zini, every minister is affected by this issue, and everyone would need to undergo the process of locating and appointing another director anew.
Ronen Bar resigned on June 15
The post of former Shin Bet head Ronen Bar was due to end in 2026. Netanyahu argued that the distrust between the two, which is paramount to productivity and, ultimately, the country’s safety, was broken on October 7 and cannot be remedied. Bar argued that this timeline is not accurate and that the push to fire him in earnest began in November 2024, in time with the start of the Qatari investigations.
Bar resigned on June 15.
After the Tuesday hearing last week, the justices originally gave all the sides – the petitioners, the A-G, and the government – until Sunday to reach a compromise.