The Shin Bet on Friday issued a statement rejecting allegations that it holds back leftwing and BDS activists at border crossings for no reason, and claiming that its actions are carried out in strict compliance with security protocols and needs.
The Shin Bet’s statement was published alongside a letter from Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber, who backs the organization and claims that the specific investigations she examined had been conducted “by virtue of the Shin Bet’s role in preventing illegal activities, and their purpose was not to prevent protests.”
The Shin Bet’s statement referred, among other things, to the detention of Jewish American journalist Peter Beinart and said that his interrogation was carried out “against the background of intelligence information that indicated a suspicion of involvement in illegal and violent activities in sensitive areas in the Judea and Samaria Area that could significantly endanger the safety and security of the Jewish and Palestinian residents as well as of the security forces.”
Zilber claimed that “it was agreed with the Shin Bet that the protocols will be updated in cooperation with the relevant parties, and be implemented in a manner that would ensure the necessary balance between the potential harm to individuals’ rights and security interests.”
According to the Shin Bet’s statement, “activists affiliated with the extreme left in Israel are involved in activities related to the Shin Bet’s mission to prevent terror and violent and illegal activities.”
The Shin Bet described the activities as being active participation in the planned flotillas to the Gaza Strip “in clear association with Hamas,” and activities in organizations that cause violent, nationalistic incidents in Judea and Samaria. The organization noted that in order to prevent this, it uses tools such as conducting interrogations “after exercising specific discretion that examines the information attributed to the activist, the potential risk they pose, and the expected short and long-term communication benefits.”
According to the Shin Bet, the policy of dealing with “extremist activists” stems from “the security circumstances and regardless of their political outlook or affiliation.” It also noted that the scope of the investigations is minimal in relation to the volume of those entering Israel.
In response, Deputy Attorney General Zilber wrote that the future control mechanisms that will be set up would determine that “in the case of an Israeli citizen or permanent resident, their interrogation at a border crossing will be carried out only in cases in which it appears that there is no reasonable possibility of summoning them to an interrogation at a different date, or that there is an intelligence or an operational need to conduct an interrogation at the border crossing.”
Zilber stressed that “questions relating to political opinions and political personalities should not be included in the interrogation, nor should questions regarding the legal activity of civil society organizations in Israel be included.”
In addition, Zilber wrote, the Shin Bet must take into account the waiting period of the person being interrogated at the border crossing, and treat him or her “in an appropriate and respectful manner.”