Israeli Shin Bet confirms agent illegally transmitted classified documents

The Shin Bet, Israel’s Internal Security Service, confirmed Tuesday that a reservist within its ranks is suspected of transmitting classified information to unauthorized individuals, including a government minister and two prominent journalists. 

The agency’s rare public statement follows revelations Monday night that have sparked a political firestorm and raised questions about internal oversight and the politicization of national security.

According to the Shin Bet, the employee "repeatedly and clandestinely" extracted classified materials from the agency’s information systems and shared them with Minister Amichai Shikli, Channel 12’s Amit Segal, and Israel Hayom journalist Shirit Avitan-Cohen. The agency stated the individual abused his position and access, directly violating both Israeli law and internal regulations.

“This is a serious and exceptional case,” said the Shin Bet, noting that the full extent of the breach remains under review. The investigation was initiated following “uncertainties about the scope of potential damage,” and has so far confirmed that sensitive materials were deliberately removed and shared. The agency emphasized that the journalists involved were neither interrogated nor subjected to surveillance during the course of the investigation.

The internal probe has gained high-level attention. Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar has been summoned to appear before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this Sunday. The meeting is expected to focus on the current investigation as well as the growing problem of classified leaks. In the past year alone, over 20 similar inquiries have been launched amid heightened national security concerns during wartime.

The leaked documents reportedly relate to a Shin Bet probe into alleged “Kahanist infiltration” within the Israeli police—a politically explosive subject that has further intensified divisions within the government.

Minister Amichai Shikli, who received some of the documents, has publicly defended the accused agent, hailing him as a “hero of Israel” and a “whistleblower” who exposed internal failings. “What this shows is that the Shin Bet was obsessively spying on a sitting minister,” Shikli claimed. “Their reports on the war’s outbreak presented a misleading and distorted picture.”

Other far-right ministers have echoed his sentiments. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the case as “a real coup d’état,” while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accused the Shin Bet of crossing “all red lines.”

Attorneys representing the suspect — a longtime Shin Bet reservist — argue their client did not endanger national security, but rather acted in the public interest. “He passed on information of critical public importance,” said one defense lawyer. “These draconian investigative tools are being used against someone who fully cooperated with the authorities.”

Despite the political pressure, the Shin Bet has stood firm, reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding Israel’s security and preventing future leaks.

“The protection of state secrets is not only essential to the functioning of our agency,” the Shin Bet said in its statement, “but to the security and trust of the citizens of Israel.”