The Prime Minister’s Office on Monday denied that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approved a Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) probe into National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The comment came in response to a Channel 12 report on Sunday, which said that the agency, in recent months, carried out a secret probe into the police on suspicion of undermining the state and democracy.
The report noted the dissemination of Kahanism as a threatening element within the police.
The Shin Bet subsequently denied the report.
“The claim that the prime minister approved Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar collecting evidence against [National Security] Minister Ben-Gvir is yet another lie that has been debunked,” the PMO statement read.
“The published document – showing a clear directive from the Shin Bet chief to collect evidence against the political leadership – resembles dark regimes, undermines the foundations of democracy, and aims to bring down a right-wing government,” it continued.
Denying the report
“The prime minister was never informed by the Shin Bet chief of his intention to collect evidence on the political leadership behind his back, nor did he approve such action,” the PMO added.
On Sunday night, the Prime Minister’s Office and Ben-Gvir’s office also denied the Channel 12 report.
Kahanism had been represented in Israeli politics by the political party Kach, which was banned in 1994 under Israel’s anti-terrorism laws after one of its supports, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Muslim worshipers in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
Kach and its successor group, Kahana Chai (Kahana Lives), are both considered terrorist organizations in Israel, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.