Israeli Media: Iran Has Hacked Netanyahu's Rival's Phone

Israeli media reported on Thursday, March 14, that senior officials from the Shin Bet, the country's security agency, recently informed General Benny Gantz, former head of the army and one of the two main candidates for the prime ministership in the upcoming elections in four weeks, that the Islamic Republic of Iran has "hacked his mobile phone and has his information." General Gantz, who led the army for four years, entered the political arena last month by forming a party called "Israel Resilience." His party quickly allied with the "Yesh Atid" party, led by well-known politician Yair Lapid, and was renamed the "Blue and White" coalition. This coalition is now the strongest rival party against Likud, the party led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and all recent polls indicate that this party may gain more seats in the elections on April 8. However, according to the Israeli network Hadashot on Thursday night, which was reflected in many other media outlets in the country such as the Jerusalem Post and Ynet, five weeks ago, shortly after the announcement of the new party under Gantz's leadership, two senior Shin Bet officials informed General Gantz that hackers affiliated with Iranian intelligence agencies had hacked his mobile phone and that his information was in the hands of the "enemy." According to this report, Shin Bet officials warned Gantz that if he becomes prime minister or reaches a senior position in the next Israeli government, the "enemy" might exploit potentially sensitive hacked information against him and Israel. Hadashot added, without going into details, that Shin Bet officials showed Gantz the necessary solutions. However, according to the Times of Israel, Shin Bet's assessment was that Gantz's mobile phone did not contain classified information that had been stolen through cyber means. The Israeli internal security agency stated in response to media inquiries that it would "remain silent." The "Blue and White" coalition led by Gantz also issued a brief statement on Thursday night, saying it would not respond to issues at the core of national security. The coalition added that "this incident occurred four years after Gantz's term as head of the army ended"; it seems that the coalition meant that Gantz no longer has access to the latest sensitive military issues of Israel. In its final statement, the "Blue and White" coalition wrote, "The publication of this news at this time raises questions." According to Ynet, former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a supporter of the "Blue and White" coalition to defeat the Likud party, expressed "confidence" that Shin Bet was not the source of this news leak. Barak, who has heavily criticized Netanyahu in recent years, added, "Any citizen can assess what factor and why this news was leaked to the media." Barak likely implicitly pointed the finger at the prime minister or his party for leaking this security news. Netanyahu and other officials in the country have recently stated that they are working to counter the increasing cyber capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to the Jerusalem Post, Nadav Argaman, head of Shin Bet, recently warned about "foreign interference" in the upcoming Israeli elections. However, when Argaman spoke of "foreign interference," Israeli media mainly linked it to Russia, and Russia immediately responded by emphasizing that no country interfered in elections and would not do so. Iran has yet to respond to the new report published in Israel regarding the hacking of the mobile phone of one of the two main candidates for the prime ministership by the Islamic Republic. Several senior officials from Iranian security agencies, including Mahmoud Alavi, Minister of Intelligence and Deputy Anti-Intelligence Minister of Iran, have recently spoken about Tehran's "intelligence oversight" regarding Israeli issues.