MK seeks tighter oversight over intelligence services

A prominent lawmaker is calling for increased parliamentary oversight of Israel’s intelligence services in the wake of Operation Protective Edge.

MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), who chairs the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Subcommittee for the Intelligence Services, which is charged with overseeing the country’s secret agencies, said he intends to push for a full review of the committee’s powers and access to information about the intelligence services, Israel Hayom reported Monday.

Elkin told the Hebrew language daily that he was inspired to act after meeting with Senator Dianne Feinstein in Washington last week. Feinstein, a Democrat from California, chairs the House Intelligence Committee and explained to Elkin how she led a campaign for tighter Congressional monitoring of US intelligence services.

According to the MK, the summer conflict in Gaza revealed large gaps between what Knesset members are told and what actually goes on in the field. He intends to lead a reexamination of current legislation to ensure full transparency of the intelligence services before the designated, security-cleared MKs on the subcommittee, including defining in legislation specific reporting requirements for the agencies and the executive branch’s precise powers to censor information from parliamentarians, he said.

Under current arrangements, the head of the Shin Bet internal intelligence service is required to report to the committee once every three months, but there is no clear definition on what must be presented to the MKs. Other intelligence services are required to report on demand to the committee, but these requests are often met with reluctance by the intelligence community.

The report came as the Mossad, Israel’s external spy agency, began a publicity drive to attract fresh recruits.

A new multilingual site, with tabs offering versions in Hebrew, English, Russian, Arabic, Persian and French, directs potential agents to an application page and offers a series of inspirational Zionist quotes such as “History is not written, history is created” (David Ben-Gurion).