Shin Bet said to demand unauthorized access to photos of citizens passing through airport

The Shin Bet security agency has reportedly demanded access to photos taken of people passing through the Ben Gurion Airport and other border crossings, despite not being allowed to under the current law.

According to the Haaretz daily, Shin Bet chief David Zini has demanded such access in order to use facial recognition to identify potential criminals, after the government on Wednesday approved a plan for the Shin Bet to work against the rampant violent crime in the Arab Israeli community.

However, the law specifies that such photographs are only allowed to be accessed by the Population and Immigration Authority, which is required to delete the images after 90 days and is not allowed to transfer them to any other agencies.

Haaretz reports that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warned Zini that allowing such access would require special legislation, after which Zini is said to have blamed her for rising crime rates.