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Knesset website targeted by Russian hackers with alleged Kremlin ties

The “XakNet Team” claimed responsibility for the cyber attack, saying it was revenge for Israeli intel sent to Kyiv regarding Iranian-made drones.

Illustrative image. Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.
Illustrative image. Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.

The Knesset website was targeted earlier this week by a Russian hacker group with alleged ties to the Kremlin, Channel 12 reported on Wednesday.

Staff at the Israeli legislature reportedly identified the breach overnight Sunday and quickly restored full functionality to the website.

According to the report, the “XakNet Team” claimed responsibility for the cyber attack, saying it was revenge for Israeli intel sent to Kyiv detailing Moscow’s deployment of Iranian-made kamikaze drones in the war against Ukraine.

The revelation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Wednesday that his government was receiving intelligence from Jerusalem, and that cooperation between the countries was taking “steps forward.”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz emphasized last week that while Israel supports Ukraine, it would not sell weapons to Kyiv.

Israel has shied away from providing arms over fears of upsetting Russia, a leading player in Syria, where the Israeli military has in recent years conducted hundreds of strikes aimed at curbing Iran’s military entrenchment and the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah there and in Lebanon.

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“The State of Israel, for us as Orthodox Jews, is the beginning of the flowering of the redemption of our people,” Rabbi Elie Buechler told JNS. “If that’s not their perspective, that’s OK too.”