The Knesset plenum voted Wednesday by 61 to 48 to grant immunity to Likud MK Tally Gotliv from a criminal indictment over publishing the name of an alleged Shin Bet officer, the husband of protest activist Shikma Bressler. The vote means the indictment will not be relevant during the current Knesset term. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not take part, and MK Merav Ben Ari shouted at Gotliv, “He abandoned you!”
The vote followed a Monday decision by the Knesset Committee, which supported immunity 11 to 3. Before the plenum vote, Gotliv said she had not published the name, argued that what she is accused of is not a state-security offense, and insisted she had only amplified a post from the site “Edna Karnaval,” which she said had been shared 500 times. She said, “I will not lower my head in a historic battlefield,” and described the move as part of a struggle “for the people and for my role.”
Coalition chairman Ofir Katz defended the committee’s decision, while Likud MK Yuli Edelstein said he would support removing immunity, warning against turning the vote into a personal loyalty test. Former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen also backed stripping immunity, saying that intentionally exposing the details of an operational Shin Bet officer, while endangering his life, is reckless and unlawful.
During the debate, Gotliv attacked Mansour Abbas from her seat, calling him a “terror supporter,” and shouted at Simcha Rothman, telling him to vote against her and accusing him of working for the attorney general. Rothman responded that anyone voting to remove her immunity was voting against the Knesset itself. Gotliv also repeated conspiracy theories about the October 7 massacre and said the opposition did not understand immunity.
The criminal indictment accuses Gotliv of disclosing classified information, an offense punishable by up to three years in prison. According to the indictment, in January 2024 she posted a screenshot of an article claiming the husband of Bressler had been in contact with Yahya Sinwar before October 7. Separately, the Lod District Court ruled Tuesday that Gotliv does not have immunity in a defamation suit filed by Bressler regarding the exposure of her partner’s name, though it found she does have immunity for the rest of the claims. That civil case is proceeding separately from the criminal case. If immunity is granted now, Gotliv would have to seek it again in the next Knesset.
