High Court rules AG, government must provide update on deal to pick next Shin Bet chief within 48 hours

The High Court of Justice rules that the Attorney General’s Office and the government must update justices within 48 hours if they have reached an agreement on the appointment of David Zini to head the Shin Bet security agency.

The court is seeking a compromise between the two sides over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of Zini, which Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said is unlawful and that the premier must delegate the authority to pick the next Shin Bet chief to another minister.

The attorney general made this determination after the High Court of Justice found Netanyahu’s dismissal of previous Shin Bet head Ronen Bar to be unlawful due to a conflict of interest owing to the Shin Bet’s probe into his close aides and their alleged ties to Qatar. Bar resigned from the post last month.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.