Opposition Leader Urges Security Chief to Meet Parents of Missing Girl

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has sent an urgent letter to Dov Zini, the head of the General Security Service (Shin Bet), requesting that Zini meet with the parents of Haimanot Kassao, a child who disappeared over two and a half years ago. Haimanot vanished from a reception center in Safed in February 2024, and her whereabouts remain unknown. Lapid's appeal follows a meeting he held with Haimanot's parents, Benchi and Tsephia. In a social media post, Lapid emphasized that while the Shin Bet assists the police, the family's voice must be heard. He stated that Haimanot's parents feel time is running out and that the Shin Bet's intelligence and technological capabilities are needed to break the deadlock. Lapid stressed in his letter that the meeting is not merely procedural but a paramount moral and national duty. He believes such a meeting would allow the parents to directly convey their anguish and receive an "responsible status update" on the search efforts. Lapid views it as critically important for the Shin Bet chief to meet the family personally. The public appeal has reignited public and political calls for the utilization of all national intelligence and technological resources to solve the painful mystery of Haimanot's disappearance.