The newly appointed head of the Israeli Shin Bet opposes prisoner exchange deals with Hamas

The Israeli media revealed on Friday that General David Zini, whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed as the new head of the Shin Bet security service, opposes any prisoner exchange deal with the factions in the Gaza Strip.

According to Israeli Channel 12 reported, citing sources without revealing their identity, that Zini had expressed his opposition to any prisoner exchange deals with the factions in Gaza during previous closed meetings of the army’s General Staff, describing the conflict with the Palestinians as an eternal war.

The sources added that Zini reiterated this position more than once over the past year, even though prisoner exchange negotiations with Hamas were underway at the time.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 58 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive.

Meanwhile, more than 9,900 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

Channel 12 noted that Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Zini to the position of head of the Shin Bet raised widespread concern among the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, who viewed his previous statements as a negative indicator of a bleak future for prisoner exchange negotiations and a ceasefire.

Channel 12 noted that Netanyahu insisted on appointing Zini to the position, despite his lack of intelligence or geopolitical background.

The Israeli channel stated that the army refused to comment on what informed sources attributed to Zini’s statements during the General Staff meetings.

The Shin Bet is considered a key player in prisoner exchange negotiations and participates in evaluating the names that may be released as part of any potential deal with Palestinian factions.

After refusing to complete the 42-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between January 19 and early March, and resuming the genocide in Gaza on March 18, Netanyahu continues to obstruct a prisoner exchange deal by insisting on not ending the war of annihilation in the Strip and accepting only a temporary halt to the return of prisoners.

Surprisingly, Netanyahu announced Thursday evening that he had appointed Zini as head of the Shin Bet security service.

He will assume his position on June 15, the date previously announced by current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar as his date for stepping down.

The move followed a previous decision by the Netanyahu government to dismiss Bar on March 20, a decision that was suspended a day later by Israel’s Supreme Court.

The court ruled on May 21 that the dismissal was unlawful, as it wasn’t presented to the Grunis Committee for Supreme Appointments, an integrity-examination body, and was made without a factual basis, and without the government holding a legal hearing for the Shin Bet chief.

The court also deemed Bar’s dismissal a conflict of interest, as the Shin Bet chief was involved in managing ongoing investigations into two cases involving Netanyahu’s associates.

In response, the Attorney General asked Netanyahu to refrain from making any decisions on the matter until the necessary legal directives are formulated in light of the court’s ruling.

However, Netanyahu didn’t comply with this decision, announcing it in the last few hours.

This decision has sparked a wave of street protests and objections from politicians, including threats of civil disobedience and a petition to the court to halt the decision.

However, Netanyahu insisted that his decision was legal, saying he would follow the legal path in the appointment process.

On the other hand, the decision sparked anger within the military establishment, after it emerged that Netanyahu had interviewed Zini inside a military base without the knowledge of Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, contrary to established procedures.

Netanyahu was summoned for a clarification session that ended with the termination of his military service.

Observers warn of an unprecedented constitutional crisis in Israel if Netanyahu insists on implementing Zini’s appointment and the Supreme Court issues a ruling suspending it.