Eisenkot Demands Netanyahu Cancel Election Integrity Meeting

The Yisrael! party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, has formally requested that Attorney General Galit Baharav-Miara and Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg cancel a meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled with Police Commissioner Dani Levy. The meeting, intended to discuss election integrity, was slated for Sunday and was also expected to include Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. Notably, representatives from the Central Elections Committee and the opposition leader were not invited.

Yisrael! argues that Netanyahu, as a candidate himself, is not responsible for overseeing election integrity and that the Police Commissioner is not subordinate to him on this matter. The party expressed concern that holding the meeting without the Central Elections Committee's involvement suggests political interference in police operations. "The unusual meeting raises concerns about an attempt to create a false impression of harm to election integrity, without any basis, in order to undermine public confidence in the results in advance," the party stated.

Furthermore, Yisrael! claimed that Netanyahu "understands he is on his way to losing, and now the concern arises that he is trying to pressure public servants to advance his political interests." This follows a prior instance where Commissioner Levy declined to attend a discussion on the topic convened by Ben-Gvir.

The Prime Minister's office, however, rejected the characterization of the meeting as unusual, asserting that such discussions are standard practice before every election. They pointed to a meeting Levy attended about a week and a half prior with the acting director general of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livneh, along with senior police and security officials. During that discussion, Levy emphasized the police's professional and apolitical nature, stating officers are prohibited from expressing political views while on duty. The 26th Knesset elections are scheduled for Tuesday, October 27.