Shin Bet's Involvement in Criminal Investigations Weakens Democracy

Wix media

On September 18, 2025, ACRI sent a petition to the Attorney General following the recent expansion of the involvement of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in investigating suspected criminal incidents by framing them as terrorist events. For instance, several months ago the Shin Bet was involved in investigating an incident in which marine flares were set off in Caesarea; in recent weeks there have been reports that the Shin Bet is involved in investigating suspected arson during civilian protests, as well as in the investigation of the shooting of a police officer during police activity to combat crime in Arab society. 

In the petition, Attorney Nitsan Ilani argues that Shin Bet involvement in the investigation of these incidents exceeds the Shin Bet's authority, infringes on the rights of suspects, and undermines democracy. According to the Shin Bet Law, the Shin Bet is a security organization tasked with thwarting and preventing harm to state security and its institutions when dealing with terrorism, sabotage, subversion, espionage, and the disclosure of state secrets. It is not authorized to deal with crime and other civilian matters. Moreover, the Shin Bet is meant to deal with the prevention of future harm, and not with gathering evidence for events that have already occurred. 

The distinction between the Shin Bet's powers and those of the police is particularly important because the Shin Bet has been granted far-reaching powers and advanced tools, including the ability to use surveillance technology and invasive interrogation methods. The slow drip of these methods into the realm of criminal investigations causes disproportionate harm to the rights of suspects to freedom, dignity, privacy, and due process. It also infringes on the ability to maintain a society free from surveillance, and, consequently, the foundations of democracy. Especially when it comes to suspected criminal offenses committed during protests, there is concern of the creation of a chilling effect that would deter protesters from exercising their democratic rights and would weaken the rights of freedom of expression and protest in Israel. 

The petition also noted that even according to the Shin Bet's own protocol (which was amended following a petition by ACRI), the Shin Bet cannot be granted the authority to investigate any incident solely due to its severity, scope, or the fact that it caused serious harm. For example, the Shin Bet protocol does not authorize the Shin Bet to investigate criminal incidents because they ended in the death of a police officer. Even serious crimes must be investigated using the regular tools available to the police.  

We requested that the Attorney General instruct the Shin Bet to immediately cease its involvement in the investigations noted above, and to sharpen the guidelines regarding Shin Bet involvement in criminal investigations to clarify the limitations of its authority and stem the disturbing and anti-democratic trend of increasing and expanding the Shin Bet’s involvement in criminal investigations. 

ACRI's petition, September 18, 2025 (Heb)