Israeli Security Probe Finds No Evidence of Foreign Election Meddling

Israeli law enforcement and security services have found no evidence supporting claims of foreign interference in the October 27 parliamentary election, despite allegations raised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet director David Zini. According to senior law enforcement officials cited by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, ongoing investigations into alleged illicit funding from the Palestinian Authority and Qatar have yielded no substantiation.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara stated on Sunday that she had seen no investigative material to substantiate claims of foreign influence capable of altering the election outcome. Investigators interrogated dozens of individuals and examined financial records, finding no proof that money was funneled to Arab-led parties. Inspections of domestic fuel companies also revealed no unusual transactions, addressing separate claims regarding the distribution of fuel cards to influence voters.

The allegations gained prominence after Arab-led political parties secured 19 seats in the Knesset. The result gives Jewish opposition factions sufficient backing to potentially form a majority and replace Netanyahu, provided they collaborate with the Arab-led parties. Following the official certification of the election results, Israeli President Isaac Herzog tasked opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot with leading the initial effort to assemble a governing coalition.

Netanyahu and his Likud party had alleged that external funding was deployed to boost voter turnout among Arab citizens of Israel, while questioning a pre-election trip to Doha by Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi. Tibi stated that his visit to Qatar was arranged specifically for a media appearance on Al Jazeera. Rejecting the claims, Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari stated: “We reject the accusations made by certain Israeli politicians and their contacts in the media, who have launched yet another disinformation campaign aiming to drag Qatar into Israeli political disputes following this week’s elections.”

The security service's inquiry into several Arab-Israeli politicians remains active under Zini, who was appointed by Netanyahu to head Shin Bet last year. Israeli police and Shin Bet officials are scheduled to submit their complete investigative assessments to Attorney General Baharav-Miara in the coming days.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com