Israel is set to hold national elections on October 27. Zini said the effort is at the top of the agency\u2019s agenda and the second \u201cmost concerning\u201d after the threat of major terror attacks, according to the Channel 13 report.<\/p>\n
Kan reported that Zini also asked for the Shin Bet not to be dragged into political arguments.<\/p>\n
\t Zini held a meeting<\/a> earlier this month with President Isaac Herzog and Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg, in which the three stressed their commitment to \u201censuring the integrity of the election,\u201d the president\u2019s office said in a statement at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are many hostile foreign digital influences, and there are many elements seeking to sabotage from within, and especially from the outside,\u201d the president continued, without elaborating.<\/p>\n The Kan report said that Sohlberg, who is also the deputy Supreme Court president, said there is constant collaboration with security bodies and professionals to \u201censure a proper, fair and trustworthy election process.\u201d<\/p>\n The state comptroller warned<\/a> earlier this month that the government has no national policy to combat the danger of foreign election interference, and that Iran and other hostile actors are systematically exploiting social media to deepen social divisions in Israel, spread panic and manipulate the public\u2019s perception of reality.<\/p>\n His report sounded an alarm over the fact that the Shin Bet only started preparing in January for the upcoming elections while the National Security Council \u201cceased dealing with the matter\u201d in August 2025.<\/p>\n \t Foreign actors have tried to meddle in Israel\u2019s politics before. A joint study <\/a>by the Institute for National Security Studies and the Institute for the Research of the Methodology of Intelligence revealed that, ahead of the 2022 Knesset elections, multiple covert campaigns unfolded on social media.<\/p>\n One sought to fracture the Religious Zionism party, using dozens of fake Twitter accounts posing as Israelis to urge far-right political leader Itamar Ben Gvir to end his Otzma Yehudit party\u2019s joint electoral run with Religious Zionism.<\/p>\n Another campaign aimed to suppress voter turnout, coordinating hundreds of accounts \u2014 including some posting in Arabic \u2014 days before and on Election Day.<\/p>\n After the vote, a small network of accounts across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Telegram sought to sow distrust in the results, spreading claims of election fraud and mobilizing protests, supported by thousands of fake followers to amplify credibility.<\/p>\n Stav Levaton contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tA man casts his vote at a polling station in Jerusalem, on November 1, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/F260701YS03-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tLikud MK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting in Knesset, Jerusalem, July 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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