Shin Bet director David Zini has likened the alleged foreign interference in Israel’s recent election to the strategic shocks of the October 7 Hamas attack and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. According to reports from Channel 12, Zini made these comparisons during a recent security conference, describing the influx of foreign money into the electoral process as a historic strategic terror attack on the state.
Zini was quoted as stating that the case of the election funds is comparable to the failures of October 7 and Yom Kippur. He labeled it the greatest strategic terror attack in the country’s history, referencing the two deadliest security disasters in Israeli history. This rhetoric has highlighted the gravity with which the intelligence chief views the potential threat to the democratic process.
Internal tensions reportedly emerged as Zini attempted to reassign officers from the Palestinian arena to a special team investigating the allegations. However, the transfer did not occur because the specialized unit indicated that additional personnel were unnecessary. This move was part of a broader effort by Zini to concentrate resources on the probe, which some within the organization view as excessive.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told the broadcaster that the Shin Bet deployed special capabilities to an extent that exceeds the realm of reason given the current evidence. Sources close to the agency described Zini as believing with all his heart that very serious events had taken place. They further noted that he was moving resources within the organization in a disproportionate manner.
Critics within the Shin Bet accused Zini of throwing a tantrum and constructing a partial and almost misleading picture based on isolated intelligence. These internal accounts suggest that the intensity of the response may not be fully aligned with the volume of evidence currently available to investigators.
Channel 12 reported that the agency is examining three suspected channels through which hostile foreign actors may have transferred funds to influence the vote. One route was identified before the October 27 election, with investigators holding solid evidence regarding the origin and destination of the money. However, the amount involved in this specific channel was described as almost negligible.
Two additional suspected channels emerged only after the election concluded. The evidence supporting these two routes is considered more limited than the pre-election findings. The investigation aims to determine if these financial flows were significant enough to impact the outcome of the parliamentary race.
Hebrew media outlets reported that Shin Bet and police officials agreed to establish a joint task force to investigate the allegations alongside the State Attorney’s Office. Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg had announced the creation of this team on Sunday. However, the task force has not yet convened, complicating the collaborative effort.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has accused the Shin Bet of withholding evidence, adding to the friction between the agencies. The backdrop for this dispute involves allegations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party that the October 27 election was stolen by Arab parties. They cited claims of bribery, intimidation, and forgery following a record turnout among Arab voters that helped deny Netanyahu’s bloc a parliamentary majority.
Sohlberg instructed Zini to investigate serious suspicions that foreign entities opposed to Israeli interests funded efforts to influence the vote. Initial reports suggested the funding may have come from Qatar or Turkey to encourage Arab participation. Since then, Sohlberg has criticized the stigmatization of Arab voters and argued that the alleged interference would not have changed the election result, labeling the undermining of the results as the real danger.
