Election Integrity at Risk? Shin Bet Chief in Confidential Hearing – Exclusive Quotes

A confidential discussion in the Knesset Subcommittee for Intelligence of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, with Shin Bet chief David Zini and Central Elections Committee chairman Judge Noam Sohlberg, addressed concerns over Iranian interference in the upcoming elections, alongside claims of selective enforcement against the right and controversial appointments in the Elections Committee. Zini revealed meetings with candidates approved by PM Netanyahu.

A confidential discussion in the Knesset Subcommittee for Intelligence of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, held today (Monday) with Shin Bet chief David Zini and Central Elections Committee chairman Judge Noam Sohlberg, revealed serious concerns about Iranian attempts to influence the upcoming elections. Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth opened and warned that the election campaign would be a "central target of Israel's enemies." Alongside external threats, internal threats were raised: fears of deliberate ballot invalidation, selective enforcement against right-wing elected officials, and controversial appointments in the Elections Committee identified with the left (Ades, Livneh, Siminovsky, Wiseman). Zini revealed that he met with candidates, including Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar), Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid (Together), with the approval of Prime Minister Netanyahu, and asked them "not to play politics at the expense of the security of the State of Israel." Also discussed was an initiative to fly thousands of opposition voters with external funding under the guise of academic conferences, exposed by Channel 14 reporter Yishai Friedman. The discussion reflects high tension around election integrity, highlighting challenges of artificial intelligence and foreign influence.