Israeli Supreme Court Schedules Hearing on Shin Bet Chief Zini's Contempt Request Against Former Security Officials

The Israeli Supreme Court has set a hearing for next Wednesday to consider a contempt of court request filed by Shin Bet chief David Zini. The request targets former Shin Bet heads Nadav Argaman, Ami Ayalon, Karmi Gillon, and 186 former employees who are petitioners in a legal battle over Zini's appointment.

Zini alleges that the petitioners have refused to provide him with a list of their names, despite a court ruling mandating disclosure. The dispute has been ongoing for nearly a year, centered on Zini's demand to access the petitioners' identities, which the court ruled he is legally entitled to see. The judges determined there is no legal basis for the petitioners to conceal their identities from the Shin Bet chief.

Although the court ordered that Zini could review the list through the court's secretariat, it later emerged that many names were only provided in initials, not full names. Following this, Zini filed the contempt request, accusing the petitioners of deliberately violating the court's decision. The petitioners argued the ruling was declarative and did not compel them to disclose the names. Zini responded by seeking permission to counter these claims, describing them as a "conscious breach" of the ruling. He requested the court to compel immediate disclosure of the full list and to impose legal costs on the petitioners.

The Supreme Court panel, including President Isaac Amit, Vice President Noam Sohlberg, and Justice David Mintz, will hear the matter next week.