AG says Netanyahu’s nomination of Zini as Shin Bet head is ‘invalid and unlawful’

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had a conflict of interest in selecting IDF Maj. Gen. David Zini to head the Shin Bet, and that it is doubtful that the appointment can go ahead.

Writing to the prime minister, the attorney general says that Netanyahu’s decision to select Zini for the position was taken “while ignoring determinations in the [High Court] ruling and legal instructions,” and is therefore “invalid and unlawful.”

Baharv-Miara says that Netanyahu’s conflict of interest prevents him from being involved “directly or indirectly in appointing a new Shin Bet chief,” and that in order to speedily replace outgoing Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, he must delegate the authority for recommending a candidate to another cabinet minister.

The cabinet can then confirm that candidate.

A legal position paper written by Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon to Baharav-Miara says that in order to avoid concerns that the designated minister simply acts “as the long arm of the prime minister,” the appointments process must be done under “strict guidelines,” in order to ensure that the process is not “tainted by ulterior motives,” and in order to get the appointment approved in time to take over from Bar.

Bar is set to step down on June 15.

Last week, the High Court found that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in firing Bar due to the Shin Bet’s involvement in the leaked documents and Qatargate investigations into the prime minister’s close aides.

The attorney general immediately told Netanyahu not to make any decision about a new Shin Bet chief until she issued legal instructions, but he went ahead anyway and nominated Zini.