Bennett and Lapid promise to seek Shin Bet involvement in Kassau case if elected — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid met with the family of Haimanot Kassau, a girl who disappeared in February 2024 from an absorption center in Safed. They said that if elected, they would seek the involvement of Israel’s General Security Service, Shin Bet, in the investigation, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Appeal to Shin Bet
The girl’s father, Tesfaye Kassau, and her older sister asked the politicians about previous attempts to transfer the case from the police to Shin Bet. According to a statement by the Haimanot search headquarters, Bennett and Lapid replied that if elected, they would seek such a decision.
Bennett also said that he would appeal to Shin Bet chief David Zini with a request to consider the service’s involvement in the investigation. According to him, after the formation of a government, he plans to convene a meeting involving the police commissioner, the Shin Bet chief, officials responsible for the investigation, the attorney general, and other relevant officials.
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Statements by the family and politicians
According to the Haimanot headquarters, over the past eight months the family has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to transfer the investigation from the police to Shin Bet, but received no response.
During the meeting, Bennett said there had been negligence in the case, but called for focusing on an in-depth investigation and a plan for further action. Lapid said that a special task force should have been created back in February 2024, and also expressed the view that the government is not doing enough to find the girl.
March in Jerusalem
After the meeting, hundreds of demonstrators marched in Jerusalem toward the Western Wall, calling on the authorities to pay more attention to the Haimanot Kassau case. The police investigation into her disappearance remains open.
