Israeli opposition warns of ‘constitutional crisis' after Netanyahu appoints new Shin Bet chief in defiance of court ruling

Israeli opposition lawmakers slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday over his appointment of Maj. Gen. David Zini as the new head of the Shin Bet internal security agency in defiance of a directive from the country's attorney general.

“Netanyahu has a serious conflict of interest in the matter of appointing a Shin Bet chief due to the Qatargate scandal in which the people closest to him received money from an Arab country that supports terrorism,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X.

Lapid called on Zini to “declare that he cannot accept the appointment until the Supreme Court issues its decision on the matter.”

The leader of the opposition National Unity Party, Benny Gantz, said: “The Prime Minister crossed another red line this evening by ignoring the Attorney General's instructions on appointing the head of Shin Bet.”

“Netanyahu is once again violating the rule of law and leading us toward a constitutional clash—at the expense of Israel's security,” he added.

Meanwhile, Yair Golan, the leader of the opposition Democrats party, wrote on X: “Netanyahu's violation of the law and defiance of the Supreme Court's decision has put us in a constitutional crisis.”

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said Thursday that Netanyahu acted contrary to a legal directive in appointing Zini as the new head of Shin Bet, describing the move as “flawed,” according to Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

The move came despite a Supreme Court ruling that the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was illegal due to Netanyahu's conflict of interest in the "Qatargate" affair as well as the opposition of Baharav-Miara, according to the daily.

It added that Netanyahu did not update Baharav-Miara before announcing the appointment.

Later, the Israel Hayom daily reported that clashes erupted between police and Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv over Netanyahu's appointment.

The "Qatargate" scandal emerged with claims that millions of dollars from Qatar were funneled into Netanyahu's election campaign.

In response, Netanyahu announced that he had filed lawsuits against those making the allegations.

The claims have led to an investigation, with Netanyahu's spokesperson Eli Feldstein and advisors Jonathan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn facing accusations.

Shin Bet has been involved in the investigation.

On March 20, the government decided to dismiss Bar, with the decision set to take effect on April 10.

However, the Supreme Court issued a temporary order preventing his dismissal or the announcement of a replacement until it reviewed petitions filed by the opposition against the decision.

Nevertheless, on April 28, Bar announced that he would leave his post on June 15.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 53,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children.​​​​​​​

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.