Electoral Committee and Shin Bet Announce Full Coordination After Security Dispute

Israel's Central Elections Committee and the Shin Bet security agency announced on Monday they are operating in "full coordination," with each body acting "in accordance with its authorities and responsibilities." The joint statement followed a meeting between Elections Committee Chairman Judge Noam Sohlberg and acting committee director Dean Livneh, and Shin Bet Director David Zini and senior agency officials.

The announcement comes about a month after a dispute between Sohlberg and Zini regarding the security detail for party leaders. The disagreement arose on August 22 when Zini decided not to assign Shin Bet protection to Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Gadi Eisenkot, stating he alone bore responsibility for the decision. Sohlberg stated at the time that Zini had informed him there was no intelligence indicating an intent to harm Eisenkot, thus negating the need for a ministerial committee meeting on the matter. The Elections Committee clarified then that Sohlberg lacked the authority to decide on security matters.

On August 27, Sohlberg approached National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi to discuss security for Eisenkot and Democratic Party chairman Yair Golan, involving both the advisory committee on personal security and the ministerial committee. Three days later, the advisory committee recommended providing security for Eisenkot until the elections due to new threats conveyed by his team, but did not recommend security for Golan. During a discussion, the police assessed the threat level against Eisenkot as high and recommended armed protection. The advisory committee's recommendation is not binding, with the final decision resting with the ministerial committee.

Reports indicated that Justice Minister Yariv Levin, acting as interim Prime Minister, delegated the decision-making authority solely to Zini. On Friday, Maariv reported, citing security officials, that the Personal Security Unit was expected to assume responsibility for Eisenkot's security in the coming days. The Democratic Party announced it would petition the High Court of Justice if Golan is not provided security. No official decision regarding Golan's security has yet been announced.

During a Knesset discussion on July 27, Zini noted that the Shin Bet is subordinate to the Prime Minister's Office in its routine operations, but when it comes to safeguarding election integrity, it is subordinate to the Elections Committee chairman, as per the Prime Minister's directive.