Israeli television reports released on Friday indicate that two significant election interference investigations are falling apart. These cases, which involved Arab-led political parties, had previously generated substantial concern among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government officials. The news suggests that the evidence base for both inquiries is weaker than initially believed.
According to Channel 12, the first investigation is expected to be closed unless new evidence emerges. This case involves three Bedouin activists who were arrested on suspicion of attempting to bribe voters to support the Ra’am party. The second case, which focused on alleged foreign funding for the Joint List, is also proving to be quite different from the initial descriptions. This discrepancy has triggered a major crisis of confidence regarding David Zini, the head of the Shin Bet, who is known as a loyalist of Netanyahu.
A senior police official expressed the frustration within law enforcement, stating, “We have lost confidence in the head of the Shin Bet.” In response to the growing tensions, Deputy Commissioner Boaz Blatt, who leads the police’s investigations and intelligence division, has restricted the flow of information. He has barred his subordinates from transferring any details about the case to the Shin Bet without his explicit approval.
The conflict highlights a significant divide in how the investigation is being characterized. While Zini has compared the alleged foreign interference to the shock invasions of 1973 and 2023, which led to the Yom Kippur and Gaza wars, police and law enforcement officials view the matter primarily as a criminal issue. Channel 12 reported that it appears to be only the Shin Bet chief who considers the case a matter of national security. A police official noted, “There’s a huge gap between Zini’s claims and the reality.”
Further complications have arisen regarding the source of the alleged funding. Initial media reports suggested the involvement of Qatar, but intelligence material provided by the Shin Bet to the police does not mention the Gulf state. Instead, the funds are believed to have originated from the West Bank, with the specific individuals or entities behind the money still unclear. The Shin Bet has also come under internal criticism, with one official accusing Zini of trying “to serve his master,” a reference to Netanyahu, who has claimed the elections were stolen and opposed the certification of results pending these investigations.
The reporting on Friday follows an agreement between Shin Bet and police officials to establish a joint task force to investigate the allegations alongside the State Attorney’s Office. This move indicated rising tensions between the agencies. Previously, Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg announced the creation of a similar joint team, but that group never convened. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara subsequently accused the Shin Bet of withholding evidence.
The investigations were launched after allegations by the Likud party that the October 27 election was stolen by Arab parties. These claims cited bribery, intimidation, and forgery, which were said to have been aided by a record turnout among Arab voters. This turnout helped deprive Netanyahu’s bloc of a parliamentary majority. Sohlberg later instructed Zini to look into serious suspicions that foreign entities acting against Israeli interests had funded efforts to influence the election.
In recent comments, Sohlberg has criticized the stigmatization of Arab voters. He argued that the alleged interference would not have changed the election result. According to Sohlberg, the true danger lies in the undermining of the election results themselves, rather than in the specific acts of interference being investigated.
