A heated debate took place on Sunday in the Knesset’s Constitution Committee regarding the Shin Bet’s “selective enforcement of leaks, violation of the freedom of the press and the right to consult with a lawyer.”

The discussion was sparked by numerous incidents of the Shin Bet and other law enforcement agencies using their power for political purposes by launching investigations into figures connected to the government. The most recent shocking affair involved a former Shin Bet agent, known as “A.”, who was thrown in prison and denied access to a lawyer after he exposed information that embarrassed Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar regarding his secret and baseless probe against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the “infiltration of Kahanism” into the Israel Police. Previous cases include the Qatargate affair and the exposure of a recording of a Shin Bet senior official saying that Jewish residents of Yehudah and Shomron are arrested “even without evidence” for several days.

Prior to the discussion, Committee chairman Simcha Rothman sent a document with scathing questions to those summoned to the discussion, including the Shin Bet chief, the Attorney-General, the State-Prosecutor, the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, and the Police Commissioner.

The 43-item document listed pointed questions regarding the conduct of the authorities in recent cases. For example, Rothman asked those present why the Attorney-General ignored the requests of the Prime Minister, the Knesset Speaker, and other parties regarding the investigation of certain leaks carried out by opposition members or those associated with them in stark contrast to leaks carried out by those associated with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his government.

In addition, Rothman demanded a thorough discussion regarding the arrest of Shin Bet agent A. Among other things, he asked who made the decision to open the investigation, whether Bar is personally involved in the investigation, and if so, why Bar’s conflict of interest in the case is being ignored. Furthermore, Rothman requested answers on the Shin Bet’s protocols for agents within the organization who believe that the head of the service is making political use of the power of office.

In her usual manner, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara simply denied the claims and said that there is “no selective enforcement” and that “the law enforcement system operates in a professional and objective manner according to standards applied to each case in accordance with circumstances.”

Baharav-Miara’s statements caused a major furor, with coalition members issuing sharply worded retorts to her claims.

Likud MK Ariel Kellner slammed Baharav-Miara, saying: “The Attorney General’s answers are GPT answers.” Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech called Baharav-Miara’s answers “empty slogans” and made statements about “thought police.” Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer said: “You will not shut us up.”

At the same time, opposition members angrily shouted at the coalition members and several were forcibly removed from the room for disrupting the discussion.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)