Latest news with #DavidZini
LBCI
2 days ago
- General
- LBCI
Israel reopens Syrian front after rockets hit Golan; US Envoy in Tel Aviv for crisis talks
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Mariella Succar Israel has reprioritized its Syrian front after two Grad rockets were launched from inside Syria and landed in the occupied Golan Heights, sending at least one million Israelis into bomb shelters. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa for the attack and ordered the air force to strike what he described as regime-affiliated military assets in southern Syria. Katz warned that the response was not yet over. The strikes and threats came as Thomas Barrack, the U.S. president's special envoy to Syria, held talks in Tel Aviv focused on ways to de-escalate tensions along the border. The border area—now referred to by Israel as its 'eyes'—was inspected by Barrack and Katz, while Israeli army units continued pursuing groups it deems hostile 'terrorist organizations' in southern Syria. Separately, Major General David Zini, a leading candidate for the head of Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency, conducted a secret tour in southern Syria ahead of the American envoy's visit. Zini reportedly met with commanders of the Alexandroni Brigade stationed there, away from media coverage. His visit comes amid Israeli debate over whether President al-Sharaa can be considered a reliable partner. Meanwhile, on the Lebanese front, the Israeli army has restructured the roles of its northern units. According to a military report, intelligence-gathering duties have been transferred from the five forward army posts along the border to the 91st Division. The command has also granted the division's so-called "fire command unit" the authority to carry out strikes on infrastructure targets inside Lebanon, based solely on intelligence reports and without prior approval from military leadership.
Arab News
27-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Israel attorney general says PM's nomination for Shin Bet chief ‘illegal'
JERUSALEM: Israel's attorney general has said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nomination of an army major general as head of domestic intelligence is 'illegal,' after the supreme court found his move to sack the incumbent chief unlawful. Netanyahu named David Zini as his pick to lead the Shin Bet last week, after months of legal and political wrangling over his attempt to dismiss the current chief Ronen Bar. In a letter to Netanyahu obtained by AFP on Tuesday, Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara pointed to the recent 'court decisions regarding the end of the Shin Bet director's mandate.' 'Your decision regarding major general Zini, made in a situation of conflict of interest and contradicting the conclusions of the judgment as well as the judicial directives in force, is illegitimate and illegal,' she said. The prime minister announced Zini's selection a day after the supreme court ruled the government's decision to fire Bar was 'improper and unlawful.' Netanyahu said in March that he was dismissing Bar because of an 'ongoing lack of trust.' That move was challenged in court by non-profit organizations and Israel's political opposition, which decried it as a sign of an anti-democratic drift on the part of Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government. Bar has since said he will step down in June. Following the supreme court's ruling that his firing was unlawful, Baharav-Miara had said Netanyahu 'must refrain from any action related to the appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet.' The prime minister, however, has insisted Zini be installed as soon as possible, calling it 'a security requirement of the highest order.' He has yet to publicly respond to Baharav Miara's latest letter. At least one NGO has threatened to file a challenge against the appointment, which still has to be approved by a vetting committee and the cabinet to be finalized. A legal opinion submitted to the attorney general by her deputy acknowledged the need to fill the role quickly, and suggested that a legal workaround to Netanyahu's conflict of interest would be to 'transfer the authority to another minister, who will present a candidate to the government.'
MTV Lebanon
26-05-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
26 May 2025 12:42 PM Ben Gvir storms al-Aqsa Mosque compound on 'Jerusalem Day'
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday stormed the al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, during 'Jerusalem Day' celebrations marking Israel's capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. 'I ascended to the Temple Mount for Jerusalem Day, and prayed for victory in the war, for the return of all our captives, and for the success of the newly appointed Shin Bet chief -- Major General David Zini,' Ben Gvir said in a statement on Telegram, released alongside a video of him at the site with al-Aqsa in the background. 'Happy Jerusalem Day!' he added.
Al Jazeera
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘How do you go to sleep?': Israeli captive families slam Netanyahu at rally
Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza have intensified their criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid large protests across the country, as the expanded military ground offensive and deadly bombardment in the Palestinian territory put the release of their loved ones at risk. On Saturday, protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Shar HaNegev Junction, Kiryat Gat, and Jerusalem, with members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accusing the Israeli government of prioritising its war over securing the return of their relatives. 'We demand that the decision-makers return to the negotiating table and not leave it until an agreement is reached that will bring them all back,' the group said in a statement on Saturday. Among those speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday was Einav Zangauker, the mother of captive Matan Zangauker, who directly addressed Netanyahu: 'Tell me, Mr Prime Minister: How do you go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. How do you look in the mirror knowing that you're abandoning 58 hostages?' The mounting anger among families has only deepened in recent days following Netanyahu's nomination of Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency. Zini has reportedly voiced opposition to any deal to bring an end to Israel's war on Gaza, telling colleagues during Israeli military meetings: 'I oppose hostage deals. This is a forever war,' according to Israel's Channel 12. 'The families of the kidnapped are outraged by the words of Major General Zini. If the publication is true, these are shocking and condemnable words coming from someone who will be the one to decide the fate of the kidnapped men and women,' the forum said in a statement on Friday. 'Appointing a Shin Bet chief who puts Netanyahu's war before the abduction of the kidnapped is tantamount to committing a crime and doing injustice to the entire people of Israel,' the group said. Al Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, says Netanyahu's new appointment 'wants military pressure and escalation in the war on Gaza, and that's why he was chosen'. 'But there's a lot of pressure on Netanyahu internationally in the last couple of weeks to try to get Israel to end the blockade of Gaza and stop the war altogether, and the expanding military operations. The military says all the brigades called up are now operating inside Gaza, she continued. 'Family members say the intensified attacks will only kill the remaining captives. But Netanyahu is part of the most right-wing Israeli government in Israel's history – people who have largely been against any ceasefire deal, largely against any end to the war', she added. Netanyahu's decision to appoint Zini came just one day after Israel's Supreme Court found his attempt to fire outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to be 'unlawful', citing a conflict of interest tied to Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial. Despite the court ruling that Netanyahu could not appoint a replacement, he proceeded with the appointment of Zini anyway. The attorney general later warned that the prime minister had defied legal guidance and tainted the appointment process. The criticism comes as Netanyahu still faces an international arrest warrant request from the International Criminal Court over war crimes committed during the Gaza war.
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Families of Israeli captives criticise Netanyahu amid large protests
Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza have intensified their criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid large protests across the country, as the expanded military ground offensive and deadly bombardment in the Palestinian territory put the release of their loved ones at risk. On Saturday, protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Shar HaNegev Junction, Kiryat Gat, and Jerusalem, with members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accusing the Israeli government of prioritising its war over securing the return of their relatives. 'We demand that the decision-makers return to the negotiating table and not leave it until an agreement is reached that will bring them all back,' the group said in a statement on Saturday. Among those speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday was Einav Zangauker, the mother of captive Matan Zangauker, who directly addressed Netanyahu: 'Tell me, Mr Prime Minister: How do you go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. How do you look in the mirror knowing that you're abandoning 58 hostages?' The mounting anger among families has only deepened in recent days following Netanyahu's nomination of Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency. Zini has reportedly voiced opposition to any deal to bring an end to Israel's war on Gaza, telling colleagues during Israeli military meetings: 'I oppose hostage deals. This is a forever war,' according to Israel's Channel 12. 'The families of the kidnapped are outraged by the words of Major General Zini. If the publication is true, these are shocking and condemnable words coming from someone who will be the one to decide the fate of the kidnapped men and women,' the forum said in a statement on Friday. 'Appointing a Shin Bet chief who puts Netanyahu's war before the abduction of the kidnapped is tantamount to committing a crime and doing injustice to the entire people of Israel,' the group said. Netanyahu's decision to appoint Zini came just one day after Israel's Supreme Court found his attempt to fire outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to be 'unlawful', citing a conflict of interest tied to Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial. Despite the court ruling that Netanyahu could not appoint a replacement, he proceeded with the appointment of Zini anyway. The attorney general later warned that the prime minister had defied legal guidance and tainted the appointment process. The criticism comes as Netanyahu still faces an international arrest warrant request from the International Criminal Court over war crimes committed during the Gaza war.
