"A basic principle is that one who acts in the interest of another must avoid a conflict between that interest and his own interest or any other interest. This is the principle regarding the prohibition of conflict of interest. This principle began as a moral matter between man and himself. Later on, it became - by virtue of the underlying social consensus - as a matter of law that began with the relationship between a person and others... In Israel, the courts have recognized in a long series of rulings that the principle regarding the prohibition of conflict of interest is not only a moral matter between a person and himself, but is a legal principle that extends to all areas of law. It applies in both private and public law. In the fields of public law, it applies to both political and administrative officials. It applies to the executors of both judicial, legislative and administrative functions..."
(High Court of Justice 595/89 Shimon et al. v. Commissioner of the Southern District of the Ministry of the Interior et al. IsrSC 44(1) 409, 413 (1990)).
Regarding the applicability of the rule to public servants, it was ruled that:
"A basic rule in our legal system is that a public servant must not be in a situation where there is a real possibility of a conflict of interest. This rule has a number of sources, the most important of which are the rules of natural justice on the one hand and the rules of trust on the other... The main scope of operation of this rule is with respect to a public servant who performs a judicial or quasi-judicial function. But the rule is not limited to these situations alone. Every public body, whatever its role, must perform its role without prejudice and bias, without impartiality and without bias.
....
... The public servant must act, in the realization of power and in the exercise of authority, out of trust and loyalty... He must act when he has before his eyes the interest in which he is entrusted and this interest alone. By virtue of this rule, the principle is derived that a public servant must not place himself in a situation where there is a real possibility of a conflict of interest between the interest in which he is entrusted and any other interest - his own property or personal interest or another interest for which he is responsible."