Top officials said to warn Iran may try to target Israeli election candidates

Senior political, security and professional officials have expressed alarm about potential Iranian efforts to disrupt the upcoming Knesset election, including possible targeting of candidates and public officials, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

At a classified meeting of the Knesset Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services, committee chairman and Likud MK Boaz Bismuth reportedly said the election season “will be a central target for enemies of Israel, and there is a substantial fear that elected officials and candidates will be physically harmed.”

“Iran understands it can’t defeat us on the battlefield, so they will try to harm us from within, to foment civil war, to deepen the rift in Israeli society and to turn the election into another front,” Bismuth is said to have added.

Central Election Committee Chair Noam Sohlberg, who is also the deputy Supreme Court president, says there is constant collaboration with security bodies and professionals to “ensure a proper, fair and trustworthy election process.”

Reports said earlier today that Shin Bet Director David Zini warned top Israeli officials during the meeting that Iran and other countries are attempting to meddle in and undermine the upcoming elections, with sources who took part in the meeting telling Channel 13 that Zini looked “very disturbed” by the threat.

Kan says Zini also asked for the Shin Bet not to be dragged into political arguments.