Attorney General requires her approval before Shin Bet questions MK's aides

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has told the Shin Bet that it needs her specific approval before it can question parliamentary aides of Joint List MKs in the foreign election-influence investigation, Channel 13 reported Monday evening.

According to the report by Michael Shemesh, the Shin Bet asked to question aides as part of a probe into suspicions against a Knesset member. The Attorney General's position is that because the suspicions concern an MK, questioning his or her aides is treated as part of the investigation of the MK. The immunity rules and procedures that apply to investigating a Knesset member therefore apply to the aides as well.

Baharav-Miara also told the Shin Bet to first build up the suspicions against the MK, Channel 13 said. Only then would she consider approving a summons for the MK, alongside the aides. The report does not name the MK or the aides.

The investigation concerns suspected foreign funding of elections in Israel. Israel National News reported that Shin Bet chief David Zini has accused legal advisers of delaying the probe, while the Attorney General is demanding more evidence. Srugim, citing Channel 13, said the development came a day after Zini complained about limits placed on the investigation.

Likud: "selective enforcement"

Likud responded sharply. In a statement, translated from Hebrew, the party called the Channel 13 report "selective enforcement on steroids." It said Baharav-Miara had readily approved questioning ministers, MKs, the prime minister's chief of staff and advisers to the prime minister and to ministers. Now, it said, she is doing everything to obstruct an inquiry into foreign interference in Israeli elections.

Likud demanded that she let the Shin Bet finish its work and stop what it called "cover-up attempts," comparing the case to the military advocate general affair. The statement is Likud's characterization. It did not address the Attorney General's legal reasoning.

Why approval is needed

Under long-standing practice, opening a criminal investigation into a sitting Knesset member requires the Attorney General's sign-off, and MKs have immunity protections that shape how a case can proceed. The Attorney General's reported position extends that protection to staff when they are questioned as part of the same case.

The Attorney General's office has not publicly commented on the report. Neither the Shin Bet nor Zini has made an on-record statement in the material available. The report leaves open when the Shin Bet might receive an answer, and whether the Attorney General would approve the aides' questioning once the evidence against the MK is stronger.

The dispute reflects a recurring tension between the Shin Bet, the government and the Attorney General's office over who sets the limits of investigations that touch elected officials.