Israel’s Netanyahu dismisses majority of senior appointments committee amid turmoil over Shin Bet chief
Advisory committee plays important role in approving appointment of Shin Bet chief
GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the dismissal of six members of the 10-seat advisory committee on senior civil service appointments amid political turmoil over the naming of a new Shin Bet chief, local media said on Sunday.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Netanyahu seeks to appoint new members of his own choice as the committee plays an important role in approving the appointment of the Shin Bet chief.
The newspaper said all six members were chosen during the rule of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s coalition government (December 2021-January 2022).
The advisory committee is a commission headed by the civil service commissioner and serves in the appointment of the senior positions, including the Shin Bet chief, the army chief of staff, and the governor of the Bank of Israel.
According to Israeli law, the committee members are selected by the prime minister, in consultation with the attorney general and the civil service commissioner.
On Thursday, Netanyahu appointed David Zini as the new head of the Shin Bet security agency, defying a Supreme Court ruling and the Attorney General's directive that the dismissal of current chief Ronen Bar was unlawful.
The Israeli government dismissed Bar in March, but 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.
On April 28, however, Bar announced that he would leave his post on June 15.
The dispute comes as the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,900 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
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