ByKESHET NEEV

JUNE 15, 2026 14:20

Updated: JUNE 15, 2026 14:27

The Knesset House Committee approved on Monday a request to provide Likud MK Tally Gotliv with immunity following her indictment on charges of disclosing and releasing classified material in breach of Shin Bet regulations.

Eleven lawmakers voted in favor, while three voted against after three days of discussions on the matter that spanned from the early morning into the afternoon.

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, who submitted the indictment, participated in two of the extended sessions last week. She skipped the Monday meeting and instead sent office representatives to convey the official position. The full Knesset plenum must still conduct a vote to confirm Gotliv's immunity.

Baharav-Miara submitted the indictment against Gotliv in May for releasing the identity of the partner of protest organizer Shikma Bressler, identified in the filing as a Shin Bet staff member.

Under the Knesset Members' Immunity Law, Gotliv requested Knesset protection from criminal proceedings before the matter reached trial. The attorney-general maintained that Gotliv's conduct does not meet the criteria for parliamentary protection.

Gotliv said she revealed classified information knowingly

Last week, Baharav-Miara informed the panel that Gotliv created a serious security threat by disclosing personal data of a Shin Bet operative amid ongoing conflict.

Baharav-Miara shared with committee members a top-secret document that included a professional assessment from the Shin Bet.

MKs who reviewed the highly classified Shin Bet assessment reported that it concluded Gotliv placed an agent and his family at risk, according to a Channel 13 account.

The core of the classified assessment described actual cases of Shin Bet personnel whose identities were revealed, exposing them to genuine and immediate danger, the account noted.

Gotliv's defense to the panel rested on the assertion that disclosing the identity was necessary, and she has not disputed the action.

She informed the panel that she performed the disclosure deliberately, claiming it was defensible and that she merits immunity in her role as MK. Gotliv also devoted extended time to repeating assertions of treason linked to the October 7 attacks and outlined multiple theories on the subject.

Her statements included a prolonged personal critique of Baharav-Miara. She also showed a video last week featuring segments she described as proof of betrayal during the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023. She leveled treason accusations tied to the attacks, offered various theories to the panel, and provoked strong reactions from opposition MKs.

The indictment against Gotliv lists the offense of revealing and publishing confidential information under the Shin Bet law.

Why are you indicting me? Because you do not know what to do with me. I acted under the authority of my immunity. I exposed Bressler's partner, Gotliv told last week's panel.

Opposition coordinator Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben-Ari told the panel that in all the hours Gotliv spoke, she did not once address the offense she is here for today.

Not only did she take no responsibility, but she amplified the offense she committed. She provided no testimony or shred of evidence to support her claims, she added.

Opposition lawmakers repeatedly criticized committee chairperson Ofir Katz's (Likud) handling of the debates and sent a letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) regarding the issue. They objected to the fact that he repeatedly removed MKs for interrupting Gotliv, while permitting Gotliv to interrupt the A-G during her presentation.

Lawmakers were not permitted to make interruptions, or they would have been removed from the panel, and the rules stipulated that only MKs who participated in all meetings on the matter would be eligible to vote. Attendance for at least half the duration of a meeting would be considered participation. As a result, some opposition lawmakers were unable to partake in the deciding vote.

The first debate also took place last week on Monday, despite the renewed conflict with Iran that had begun the evening before and continued throughout the day. This also led to sharp criticism from lawmakers.

Attorney General Baharav-Miara requested that MK Gotliv's immunity be denied

Ahead of the first Knesset debate on Monday, Baharav-Miara wrote a letter to members of the panel, requesting that Gotliv's immunity be denied.

She explained that the indictment against Gotliv was filed on the basis of professional, objective, and good-faith discretion, and that none of the grounds for parliamentary immunity applied in her case.

The indictment against Gotliv was filed in May, based on her publishing on January 24, 2024, a screenshot from the website Edna Karnaval that included the full name of Bressler's partner and claims tying him to alleged contacts with then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar before the October 7 massacre.

Karnaval is described by the indictment as having a critical and blunt style, especially toward public officials.

The screenshot, according to the indictment, included a headline alleging that Mossad chief David Barnea had received information from the US that they had intercepted calls between Bressler's partner and Sinwar four days before October 7. The article further claimed that Barnea had summoned Bressler to a meeting, and that the Prime Minister's Office had later issued a denial of Gotliv's earlier statements.

The indictment said that the post received in excess of 400,000 views, 1,000 comments, 1,000 likes, and 500 shares. It said that Gotliv's X/Twitter account had over 65,000 followers at the start of the relevant period, and over 90,000 by the time the indictment was filed.

Prosecutors alleged that Gotliv revealed and published the name of the Shin Bet employee and his relationship with Bressler knowingly, deliberately, continuously, demonstratively, and repeatedly.

The indictment said that the post remained available online from the time of publication until the indictment was filed, and that Gotliv did not remove it from her account.

The indictment further said that Gotliv stood by the publication, repeatedly published similar statements in which she again identified Bressler's partner as a Shin Bet employee, and publicly stated that she had no intention of removing, or apologizing for, what she had written.

The Mossad denied the claim at the time, calling it a recycled falsehood and saying Barnea had never met, spoken to, or invited Shikma Bressler to a meeting.

Earlier in May, Defense Minister Israel Katz signed a certificate of confidentiality ahead of the indictment filing, clearing a procedural obstacle that had delayed the case.

Gotliv has repeatedly framed the matter as a political and legal fight over her work as an MK. In her post ahead of the indictment, she wrote that the attorney-general had acted after Katz signed the confidentiality certificate, and said she had not yet received the indictment, adding that she expected to read it soon at one of Baharav-Miara's mouthpieces.

Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.