Israeli Election Chief Rules Netanyahu Illegally Used IDF for Campaign

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee and Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg has ruled that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violated election law by using "material and non-material assets of various state organizations," including the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), for campaign purposes. Solberg's decision, reported by Channel 12 News, granted petitions filed against Netanyahu and ordered the prime minister to pay the petitioners 29,000 shekels in legal costs.

Six petitions were filed against Netanyahu. Five were fully granted, while one was dismissed. One of the petitions specifically addressed Netanyahu's visit to an IDF position in southern Lebanon and the subsequent publication of a video from the visit on his personal social media accounts.

Solberg ruled that the publication utilized state resources for filming and distribution, and was based on the prime minister's visit to an IDF position in Lebanon accompanied by other senior security and military officials. He stated that such a visit, with all its accompanying features, is not a resource available to other candidates, thus constituting a prohibited publication.

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee concluded that state resources were illegally used for election campaigning in several other instances as well. He ordered the removal of the relevant publications from the prime minister's social media accounts.