Shin Bet Deploys Night Staff to Remove Likud Event Registration From Government Site

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) dispatched a night duty officer early Wednesday morning to remove a registration page for a Likud party event from a government website. The page, which used the gov.il domain and displayed both the Likud logo and the Israeli government emblem, was used to collect personal details for a Rosh Hashanah toast event attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Likud officials.

The removal followed a petition filed with the Central Elections Committee chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, by the "Economic Unit" NGO. The NGO argued that using a government website for political campaign activities, including collecting attendee information for security and organizational purposes by the Likud party, violates election laws prohibiting the use of public resources for political propaganda.

Initially, the Prime Minister's Office responded that the site was for security purposes and that no information would be transferred to the Likud. However, when the NGO discovered the page remained active, they urgently informed Justice Sohlberg. Around 2 AM, Sohlberg ordered the state to respond by 10 AM. The state then admitted the link had not been removed by technical staff but claimed a duty officer was immediately dispatched and successfully removed the page by approximately 1:45 AM. The Shin Bet confirmed these details in an affidavit signed under a pseudonym, and the agency stated the incident would be reviewed.

The Prime Minister's Office stated the matter involved their office and the Shin Bet, and that they did not initiate the content's placement on the government site, referring inquiries to the Shin Bet. Justice Sohlberg dismissed the petition as moot due to the page's removal, without awarding costs to the Likud. An investigation into the issues raised by the petition will be conducted by the Shin Bet.