Opposition decries Gotliv immunity vote as coalition celebrates

By Ariela Karmel

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

17 June 2026, 5:26 pm

Edit

Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Opposition politicians slam the Knesset’s decision to grant Likud MK Tally Gotliv immunity from criminal prosecution for exposing the identity of a Shin Bet officer, while coalition lawmakers celebrate the vote as a victory over what they describe as a politically motivated judiciary.

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot condemns the decision, arguing that allowing elected officials to “endanger Israel’s security and use their parliamentary immunity as a refuge from the law is a slap in the face to the fighters and members of the security establishment.”

He accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having “personally worked to place on the current Likud list people who have nothing whatsoever to do with statesmanship, liberalism or patriotism.”

Democrats chair Yair Golan likewise denounces the vote as a “disgrace,” declaring that the Knesset has become “a sanctuary city for political cronies and criminals.”

“Once again, Netanyahu’s coalition has proven that it prefers political survival to the good of the country and Israel’s security,” he says.

Democrats MK Efrat Rayten charges that “even exposing a Shin Bet officer and harming state security becomes a secondary matter when political survival, party primaries and holding onto one’s seat are at stake,” while Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Cassif charges that those backing immunity are motivated by “loyalty to the supreme leader, the party and the regime – not to the public or the rule of law.”

Meanwhile, coalition lawmakers hail the decision, including Gotliv’s close ally Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, who celebrates Gotliv’s triumph as “a victory for the entire national camp,” while Likud MK Boaz Bismuth says the vote marks an end to the judicial system’s “political persecution” of right-wing elected officials.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posts a photograph of himself with Gotliv from a High Court of Justice appearance, captioning it simply: “Lioness!” Neither he nor the premier attended the vote itself.