JERUSALEM: An Israeli panel confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nominee for domestic security chief on Thursday.
The prime minister’s office announced the confirmation of army Major General David Zini to lead the Shin Bet domestic security service.
Netanyahu first named Zini as his choice for the role back in May.
This nomination followed a prolonged dispute over the premier’s attempt to dismiss the agency’s former director, Ronen Bar.
Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav Miara, had previously declared Zini’s nomination “illegal”.
Her statement came after the supreme court ruled that the move to sack Bar was unlawful.
The committee responsible for vetting senior positions confirmed Netanyahu’s pick on Thursday.
This confirmation clears the path for Zini to officially assume the role of Shin Bet director.
The committee found no ethical issue preventing the prime minister from selecting a Shin Bet director.
Netanyahu had announced Zini’s selection just one day after the supreme court’s ruling against Bar’s dismissal.
The prime minister stated in March that he was dismissing Bar due to an “ongoing lack of trust”.
Advocacy groups and Israel’s political opposition challenged this move in court.
They decried the dismissal as a sign of anti-democratic drift by Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government.
Bar eventually stepped down from his position in June.
Israeli media have connected the cabinet’s dismissal of Bar to a Shin Bet investigation into Netanyahu aides.
The investigation involved allegations that Netanyahu aides received payments from Qatar.
This scandal, known as “Qatargate”, raised questions about potential Qatari influence in the prime minister’s office.
Netanyahu denounced the case as a “political witch hunt”. – AFP