David Zini, chief of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), said on Tuesday that he agreed to be appointed to the position because he felt that he had "the ability to be loyal to the elected leadership."
"On the face of it, I should have told him (Netanyahu) I was not qualified," Zini explained. "But I told him yes. I immediately told him that he had better people than me within the service, why wouldn't he take them? But I told him I could take on the mission. The reason I agreed was that the issue that I felt I was very qualified for, perhaps more than many other good people, was the ability to be loyal to the elected leadership, no matter what opinion."
Democrats party leader Yair Golan called Zini's statement "one of the most dangerous statements ever made by someone who headed Israel’s security system."
"Anyone who enters the role with a political agenda and declares that their job is to serve the government and not the state is a danger to the country’s security," Golan stated in a post on X/Twitter.
"We are at the start of an election campaign. A security service led out of loyalty to the political echelon and not to the law could turn from a tool that protects democracy into a tool that serves a government that wants to cling to power. This is not just a threat to the integrity of the elections and to public trust in the state’s institutions - it’s a real security threat that could harm the country’s stability and its ability to deal with threats from within and without."
In contrast, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised Zini for what he said, saying that it was "the fundamental thing in a democratic country."
"Now watch the left-wing lunatics and the sycophants of the judicial junta attack him in a fury," Ben-Gvir wrote. "Don't fear, David, don't fear!"
Democrats MK Naama Lazimi said that Zini was "Loyal to the king and not to the kingdom."
She added that, particularly in a time before elections and while the government was "rebelling against the rule of law," Zini's words were an "existential threat to democracy and the security of the state.
"The head of a secret organization that serves the government’s political agenda instead of Israel’s citizens is a weapon aimed at the public and a real threat to the integrity of the elections," Lazimi stated.
Yesh Atid MK Rami Ben Barak warned Zini not to get confused.
"The Shin Bet chief is subordinate first and foremost to the law and then to the elected government," she wrote. "There are no private agendas for any head of an organization in the State of Israel."
Zini appointed as Shin Bet head despite High Court ruling
Zini was appointed in May, 2025, by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir was notified of Zini’s appointment just minutes before it was announced publicly and did not take part in the decision-making process.
The office's announcement was made despite a High Court ruling that the dismissal of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar was unlawful due to Netanyahu's conflict of interest in the "Qatargate" affair, and despite the opposition of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.
This is a developing story.