Shin Bet chief nominee ‘takes the hostages less into account,’ security official tells Channel 12

Channel 12 reports additional information showing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s designated Shin Bet chief prefers continued war against Hamas in Gaza over a deal to return hostages.

According to the report, Zini expressed anger at then-IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi at an IDF Southern Command meeting last year, stating: “You are preferencing the return of hostages over the elimination of Hamas.”

A security official present at IDF General Staff meetings tells Channel 12 explicitly that Zini “takes the hostages less into account,” adding that while the military carries out operations to avoid hurting hostages, for him, “it is no parameter.”

Another source says Zini’s views are known, and while he is usually the minority in the room without much influence, as chief of the Shin Bet, “this would not be the situation.

Channel 12 reported Friday night that Zini, whose appointment Netanyahu announced Thursday in defiance of the attorney general, had reportedly said to colleagues in the military: “I’m against hostage deals. This is an eternal war.” The network also reported that Netanyahu selected Zini after a brief, impromptu conversation that went behind the back of IDF chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.