Israel's Shabak chief David Zini faces leak probe and political backlash

Former Shabak investigations chief Micha Kobi said a criminal probe into the recent leak of strategic information about a planned Iranian strike should have been launched weeks earlier. He urged the Shabak to lead the investigation, warning that the breach could have caused massive damage to Israeli and U.S. forces, and condemned attempts by legal officials to shift investigative authority away from the agency.

In a related controversy, Rabbi Eliyahu Zini, David Zini's brother, told a TV channel that the Shabak chief would obey Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if a clash arose between the government and the Supreme Court. The remarks, prompted by recordings released by I24NEWS in which Zini expressed loyalty to the elected leadership and criticised the judiciary, sparked condemnation from President Isaac Herzog and former Shabak head Yoav Cohen, who stressed that security agencies serve the state and its laws, not any political faction.