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Thursday, December 25, 2025
Lapid warns Shin Bet deputy head’s resignation could scuttle Qatargate probe
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the recent resignation of the deputy head of the Shin Bet “raises concerns” that the person appointed in his place will shut down the investigation into the Qatargate scandal, in which several former aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are alleged to have worked as lobbyists for the Qatari government while in the prime minister’s employ.
The deputy director of the Shin Bet resigned from the security agency after some 30 years of service, less than three months after the agency’s new director, David Zini, stepped into the role and amid reports of serious and frequent differences of opinion between Zini and the deputy, identified only by his first initial in Hebrew, Shin.
Lapid adds that when Zini was appointed to lead the agency, Netanyahu “pledged that Zini would not involve himself in the Qatargate affair. The High Court of Justice has made this a binding order.”
“[Shin] should manage this investigation until his retirement and then appoint someone to replace him without interference from [Zini] or Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office,” the opposition leader continues.
A Netanyahu loyalist, Zini was nominated by the prime minister to lead the agency in May, in part due to the controversial ouster of former chief Ronen Bar. Bar was investigating the Qatargate scandal, which the prime minister has dismissed as a “witch hunt.”
The Times of Israel Community.