Efrat Rayten Calls for Emergency Government Over Shin Bet Interrogation Reports

MK Efrat Rayten called on November 8 for a national emergency government to be formed as quickly as possible, linking her appeal to reports about Shin Bet interrogations. She described the accounts emerging from interrogation rooms as deeply troubling and alleged that the prime minister was using the security service for political investigations, comparing this to “dark regimes on steroids.” Rayten warned that Israeli democracy was in real danger and demanded a halt to what she called the regime overhaul. “There is no time,” she wrote. Her post included a screenshot of a report alleging that journalist and Balad activist Abed Abu Shehadeh, suspected of contact with a foreign agent, had been asked political questions during a Shin Bet interrogation. Those interrogation allegations formed the basis of her appeal. In a November 5 statement, Rayten had said she was leaving the President’s Residence after her delegation formally recommended Gadi Eisenkot to form a government of change. She characterized the outgoing Netanyahu government as an unprecedented threat to Israel’s security and democracy. Citing developments over the preceding 48 hours, she had called for a democratic emergency government to save the country.