Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Likud MK Boaz Bismuth on Wednesday summoned Shin Bet chief David Zini for what he described as a discussion on both foreign and domestic “attempts to interfere in Israel’s electoral system” in the upcoming election later this year.

In a letter to Zini, Bismuth wrote that while Israel must guard against foreign attempts to influence elections, “it is also necessary to examine the danger of interference from within.”

He specifically referred to the High Court of Justice’s interim order, issued the same day, freezing Michael Rabello’s appointment as state comptroller after he was elected in a controversial June 3 Knesset vote. Several Likud MKs photographed or videoed themselves voting for Rabello —Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s longtime lawyer and negotiator — reportedly on the instructions of senior Likud officials.

Petitioners alleged to the High Court that the process had been contaminated, violating the requirement in Basic Law: State Comptroller that members of Knesset vote by secret ballot, and argued that this component of the law was designed to bolster the office’s political independence.

The court has urged the Knesset to hold a new vote, but Speaker Amir Ohana refused. This led the court to conduct a second hearing with an expanded five-justice panel on June 28, leading to Wednesday’s interim decision.

“We are witnessing........

© The Times of Israel