The brother of Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief David Zini is suspected of smuggling cigarettes into Gaza while serving as an IDF reservist during the war against Hamas, police said Tuesday.
Bezalel Zini was detained last month alongside a dozen others in what police initially described as “a multi-suspect affair concerning the smuggling of goods into Gaza,” with details limited by a court-enforced publication ban.
Police filed a prosecutorial statement against Zini on Tuesday, allowing his name and the nature of the allegations to be made public.
Prosecutors on Wednesday filed criminal indictments against 12 Israelis and Gaza residents, excluding Zini, on charges including aiding the enemy during wartime, prohibited dealings in property for terrorist purposes, aggravated fraud, bribery and other economic offenses.
The alleged smuggling operation reportedly involved at least a dozen Israelis, with legal proceedings now underway at both Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court and Beersheva District Court.
Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court Judge Yaniv Ben Harush on Tuesday sought to curb public speculation, saying, “It’s important the public knows no tanks or drones were smuggled—otherwise, people believe what they read on social media.”
“I’ve allowed publication of the nature of the suspicions in order to dispel the heavy cloud surrounding the suspicions,” the judge said.
Jerusalem banned the entry of cigarettes into Hamas-run Gaza during the war, with officials saying the products are sold at high prices on the black market and heavily taxed by the terror group.
Shmuel Zini, Bezalel’s brother, told journalists outside the court on Tuesday that his family believes the case is part of an alleged plot to undermine the recently appointed head of the Shin Bet.
“The path is long—but the truth will win out,” Shmuel Zini told reporters, adding: “The Israeli public understands the situation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s May decision to appoint David Zini—a retired major general who is Orthodox, has 11 children and comes from a family of rabbis of Algerian descent—was met with criticism, with some saying he lacked experience inside the agency.
