Likud MK Amit Halevi identified Iran and Turkey as the primary orchestrators of a strategic effort to sow internal division and achieve "regime change" in Jerusalem in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Halevi, a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, issued a stark warning regarding what he describes as sophisticated foreign intervention in Israel's domestic process.
While Israel’s use of paper ballots makes direct mechanical tampering with elections nearly impossible, Halevi emphasized that foreign actors can still influence the outcome.
"You can influence," Halevi said. "And as long as it is an Israeli citizen, that is excellent and desirable. But when it involves a foreign country with foreign interests and a hostile state is behind the influence, it becomes fundamentally invalid."
Halevi detailed what he described as the methods used by hostile actors, arguing that they exploit the digital sphere and financial leverage to manipulate the Israeli electorate. According to him, these states deploy budgets and capabilities far beyond the reach of any individual in order to identify and exploit "weak links" and "influential links" within Israeli society.
Social networks, influence through digital means
"Intervention can be, of course, in the digital age, through various digital means on social networks," he explained. "This is funding that leads to various actions by different people in different sectors and different regions... to eventually reach a result desired by the hostile state."
He further alleged that such influence operations often operate behind legitimate-looking organizations.
"The system of the 'bad guys' exploits everything - any international humanitarian or civil camouflage network-to bring about harm to the State of Israel," Halevi claimed. He specifically pointed to funding and activities by "foreign countries and the European Union" channeled through Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as an ongoing concern, even outside election periods.
"I think it is right to mention mainly two countries whose open, undisguised aspirations to set the agenda in the Middle East and beyond are known to all," Halevi said. "I mean Iran and Turkey. The two have a part in this context of attempts to influence the elections in Israel. Both are bitter enemies, and both have detailed plans for the destruction of the State of Israel."
According to Halevi, the strategic objective of Tehran and Ankara is to project themselves as the region’s "kingmakers"-states capable of shaping the internal politics of neighboring countries.
For these hostile actors, Halevi argued, removing Israel’s current leadership is a tactical necessity.
Israel's adversaries exploit domestic left-right political divide
"Everyone in the region understands that the rule of the Right and the rule of Netanyahu is a fortified wall against deterioration," he said. He argued that Israel’s adversaries understand the domestic political divide between the Left and the Right and are "invested" in dismantling the current governing coalition.
Halevi also drew a parallel to recent events in the United States, arguing that foreign interference in democratic systems is an increasingly global phenomenon.
"I remind you that before the elections in the United States, there were those who tried to assassinate President Trump... and the involvement of foreign countries in that context is known today."
Halevi said he raised these concerns directly with Shin Bet Director David Zini.
"These things need to be on the table and, above all, need to be handled properly," Halevi said. "I want to hope that this is indeed being done with all the means available to our security systems."
While Halevi is a vocal critic of what he calls "unelected bodies," such as the judiciary and legal advisers, overriding the public will, he argued that foreign intervention in Israeli elections represents a "red line" that should concern all Israelis, regardless of their political views.
"It is unacceptable that someone here would cooperate with this," he said. "It is important that everyone knows that we know, and that everyone knows that no one here is naive."