Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned in the Knesset plenum Wednesday that Iran and Russia are conducting influence operations ahead of Israeli elections. He called for the Shin Bet, National Security Council, and Central Elections Committee to establish a unified body with full authority and budget to protect the electoral process, under supervision of all factions.
Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid took the Knesset podium Wednesday afternoon to deliver a detailed warning about foreign interference in the upcoming Israeli elections. Lapid stated that Iran and Russia are actively operating influence campaigns on social media, aiming to split Israeli society, strengthen extremists, and weaken moderates. He called for the immediate establishment of a single coordinating body involving the Shin Bet, the National Security Council (מל״ל), and the Central Elections Committee, with full authority and a dedicated budget, to be overseen by all coalition and opposition factions.
This follows an earlier report by The Zioneer (14:25) that Lapid had accused Russia and Iran of influence operations, based on an interview with Amit Segal (N12). The Knesset speech provides the first on-record elaboration of his proposal. Lapid did not present specific evidence for the alleged operations, leaving the claim at the level of assertion.
The speech comes amid a broader political debate on election security. The State Comptroller previously warned of Iranian social media interference (The Zioneer, July 7). The acting director-general of the Central Elections Committee has publicly stated that attempts to forge the elections will fail. Lapid's proposal now formalizes a demand for a unified response mechanism, though it remains unclear whether the government will act on it.
2 developments
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- StrongKnesset committee chair sends Shin Bet chief sharp letter ahead of debate on election interference threats
- DevelopingState Comptroller warns of Iranian social media interference ahead of elections
Source and signal
- Internal intake