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Knesset panel votes to grant Gotliv immunity for exposing Shin Bet officer’s identity
The Knesset House Committee voted 11-3 on Monday to grant Likud MK Tally Gotliv immunity from criminal prosecution for repeatedly exposing the identity of a Shin Bet officer, capping three tumultuous hearings that opposition lawmakers argued amounted to little more than a rubber stamp for a decision that coalition members had already made.
The decision, supported unanimously by coalition members on the committee, will now be brought before the Knesset plenum for final approval. Any immunity granted, however, would expire at the conclusion of the current Knesset’s term in the coming weeks.
The Attorney General’s Office announced last month that it was indicting Gotliv over social media posts from 2024 that identified the partner of an antigovernment protest leader as a Shin Bet agent, while promoting baseless conspiracy theories linking him to Hamas and insinuating that he bore responsibility for the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
Gotliv does not dispute the charges and repeatedly maintained throughout the hearings that her actions were justified.
“I deliberately exposed Shikma Bressler’s partner. It was crystal clear to me that there had been subversion and rebellion here that the Shin Bet did not investigate,” she said during Monday’s hearing.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who attended the previous two hearings but did not appear at Monday’s session, has said that Gotliv violated the law by exposing the identity of a Shin Bet officer and that parliamentary immunity does not shield her.
The first hearing was held last week, even as most Knesset activity was suspended due to Iranian missile attacks that repeatedly sent Israelis to shelters, with a second hearing taking place several days later.
“פיליבסטר תעשו במליאה, לא פה”: בתום דיון והצבעה סוערת, ועדת הכנסת הכריעה בעד מתן החסינות לח”כ גוטליב. כעת, הבקשה תעבור להכרעה סופית ולאישור מליאת הכנסת ביום רביעי הקרוב.@OfirKatzMK @TallyGotliv @Meravbenari https://t.co/YyERHnZfcg pic.twitter.com/eYMA5GzJ6F
— ערוץ כנסת 99 (@KnessetT) June 15, 2026
Gotliv spent little time during the hearings defending herself against the charges. Instead, the proceedings largely served as a platform for her and her coalition allies to launch lengthy attacks on the attorney general, as well as promote conspiracy theories linking the judiciary, anti-government protesters, and security officials to the October 7 attack.
On Monday, Gotliv was again given extensive speaking time despite having already occupied much of the previous hearings, while committee chair and fellow Likud MK Ofir Katz repeatedly struggled to move proceedings toward a vote.
At one point, Gotliv spoke over Katz as he warned that the committee would run out of time. Katz did not intervene, but prevented representatives of the prosecution from responding to some of her remarks before proceeding with the vote.
Coalition lawmakers consistently rallied behind Gotliv throughout the hearings, echoing her claims that the Attorney General’s Office was acting in bad faith and selectively targeting right-wing politicians.
Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, one of Gotliv’s most vocal defenders, characterized the indictment as “a political move by unelected officials who want to silence the national camp.”
Opposition lawmakers, meanwhile, expressed continued incredulity that coalition lawmakers were even entertaining granting immunity to an MK who, in the words of Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen, “knowingly committed a criminal offense and exposed the identity of a Shin Bet employee, which, according to the head of the Shin Bet, endangered his life and the security of other Shin Bet personnel.”
Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak said that “a criminal organization called the Likud party has turned Israel’s parliament into a refuge for criminals who harm state security.”
“In any normal country, we wouldn’t even be having this hearing,” said Ben Ari, arguing that Likud lawmakers were more interested in “currying favor” ahead of Likud party primaries set to be held by the end of July.
Many lawmakers are eager to burnish their standing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with the party’s base, for whom the judiciary and attorney general have been cast as the government’s primary political foil and which it regularly blames for many of the country’s ills.
Gotliv is immensely popular with the party base and is expected to do well in the primaries.
Addressing Gotliv directly during Monday’s session, Ben Ari predicted that a future government would revisit the matter, following national elections set to be held by October 27.
“God willing, you will stand trial and pay your debt,” she said.
