Shin Bet Director David Zini has alerted senior Israeli officials to efforts by Iran and other foreign countries to interfere in the country's upcoming elections, according to a report by Channel 13 News journalist Michael Shemesh.
Zini has conducted a series of meetings in which he warned of attempts to disrupt the electoral process. The Shin Bet is dedicating significant resources to counter interference efforts by Iran and other foreign actors, he indicated. He ranked election security as the second most pressing concern for the agency, after the threat of mass-casualty terrorist attacks, and said the Shin Bet would do everything necessary to prevent interference with the vote. Attendees of these meetings said Zini expressed that he is "very concerned" About the threat.
Zini is scheduled to brief a classified Knesset committee on intelligence concerning possible foreign interference, alongside Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Solberg, who chairs Israel's Central Elections Committee. The briefing will take place before the Intelligence Subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which has convened a special session on hostile state efforts to influence Israeli elections. Shin Bet representatives will present intelligence assessments and information regarding the agency's ability to monitor covert financial flows intended to influence political activity within Israel.
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Boaz Bismuth called the special meeting after requesting that the Shin Bet use all available tools to counter foreign electoral threats. During earlier committee discussions, Israel's National Cyber Directorate representatives said they had identified indications of attempted foreign interference in the elections.
President Isaac Herzog previously warned the public about electoral threats, stating that Zini and Solberg had briefed him on various threats to the integrity of Israel's electoral process.