Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday appointed Maj. Gen. David Zini as the next head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, ignoring a directive from the attorney general and escalating a legal confrontation over his authority to make senior security appointments.
The move comes one day after Israel’s High Court ruled that Netanyahu’s dismissal of current Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar was unlawful, citing a conflict of interest. The conflict stems from the agency’s investigation into individuals within the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly connected to the so-called Qatargate affair — a suspected influence-peddling and foreign funding scandal.
Following the ruling, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara reiterated that Netanyahu is barred from making senior law enforcement or security appointments under the terms of a prior conflict-of-interest arrangement related to his ongoing corruption trial. She warned that the prime minister must refrain from appointing a successor to Bar.
Netanyahu, however, signaled during a Wednesday press conference that he would not wait. On Thursday, his office announced Zini’s appointment without notifying the attorney general in advance.
In response, Baharav-Miara’s office said Netanyahu had acted in violation of legal guidance and warned that “there is serious concern he acted while in a conflict of interest, and the appointment process is fundamentally flawed.” Petitions to the High Court challenging the appointment are expected.
Zini, 50, currently commands the IDF’s General Staff Corps and has held numerous elite and senior roles in the Israel Defense Forces, including service in Sayeret Matkal, command of the Egoz and Alexandroni brigades, and leadership of the IDF’s commando brigade. He also led the military’s training command and was promoted to major general in July 2023.
Zini authored a 2023 internal report warning of vulnerabilities in the Gaza Division’s readiness for a surprise attack — concerns that were borne out during the October 7 Hamas assault. On that day, he joined frontline troops and helped repel an incursion near Kibbutz Mefalsim, reportedly killing several terrorists.
A father of 11, Zini holds degrees in education, national security, and public administration, and is a graduate of Israel’s National Defense College and the Churchill Program at the Argaman Institute.
His name has previously drawn political attention. Israeli media reported that Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, lobbied for his appointment as IDF chief of staff while in Miami, despite his not being among the official candidates at the time.
The appointment intensifies a constitutional showdown between the prime minister and the legal establishment and may face judicial review.