MK warns Shin Bet of foreign interference in upcoming Knesset election

An election period is a democratic vulnerability that hostile states and foreign elements may try to exploit, the Likud lawmaker said.

By World Israel News Staff

A Likud lawmaker has asked Shin Bet chief David Zini to step up monitoring for possible foreign interference in Israel’s approaching election campaign, warning that outside actors may seek to influence the vote through social media, digital platforms and funding channels.

MK Amit Halevi, a member of both the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Central Elections Committee, sent Zini an urgent letter over the weekend, Israel Hayom reported Sunday.

“I am contacting you due to indications that have reached me, by virtue of my role as a member of the Central Elections Committee and as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, pointing to attempts at foreign interference in the upcoming elections,” Halevi wrote.

Halevi said an election period is a democratic vulnerability that hostile states and foreign elements may try to exploit.

“An election campaign is a democratic ‘weak point’ that constitutes a strategic target for hostile countries and foreign actors,” he wrote.

“They seek to undermine internal stability, deepen social polarization and, above all, influence the election results.”

The letter comes as Israel moves closer to a national election. The Knesset voted on May 20 in a preliminary reading to advance a bill dissolving the 25th Knesset, though the legislation must still pass additional readings before a final election date is set.

Halevi asked Zini to instruct the Shin Bet to increase supervision and monitoring of social media networks and digital platforms to identify foreign influence operations. He also urged the agency to track money flows allegedly intended for party activity and political campaigns under the cover of civil society activity.

The Shin Bet declined to comment on the matter, telling Israel Hayom: “We do not address the issue.”

The warning follows a meeting earlier in May between Zini and Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg.

According to a joint statement cited by Ynet, the two discussed cooperation between the Shin Bet and the committee ahead of the election, including the agency’s assistance in protecting Israel’s democratic process under arrangements used in previous campaigns.

The issue of foreign interference has already drawn public warnings from State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman.

In remarks at Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Week earlier this year, Englman said his office had found “significant flaws” in Israel’s preparations for foreign influence attempts ahead of the 2026 election and called on the government and Central Elections Committee to improve their readiness.

“We must recognize that foreign influences may emerge and affect our democratic process,” Englman said, warning that such efforts could create chaos on election day, damage public trust, influence voters, distort results and deepen social divisions.