'This is not a drama': Israeli agency had intel on illegal funds before election, failed to share it

Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, is investigating suspicions that Qatar and Turkey sent money into the country to influence voting in Arab communities, raising questions about possible interference in the pivotal polls.The inquiry follows an order from Central Elections Committee (CEC) chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, who received information from Shin Bet chief David Zini describing the suspicions as “extraordinary in its seriousness”.Qatar, however, has categorically denied interfering in Israel’s elections.Meanwhile, the investigation is not expected to delay the announcement of final results or prevent President Isaac Herzog from asking a party leader to begin forming a coalition, a committee source told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.Asked whether the probe could lead to another election, the source said it was “far too early for such a question”. He added that investigators first needed to establish whether any wrongdoing had occurred and whether it affected the distribution of seats in the Knesset.Shin Bet faces questions over timing Israeli media reported that Shin Bet had information about suspected illegal money transfers before the election day but did not share it with the CEC at the time.According to N12, the agency had been investigating the matter for days before informing Sohlberg. The report also said a confidential security assessment took place on election day, but the information was not disclosed there.Legal sources, as N12 reported, questioned why the intelligence had not been shared earlier.However, law enforcement officials who reviewed the material cautioned against exaggerating its significance, saying that “this is not a drama” at this stage.Sohlberg instructed Zini to gather evidence that could either confirm or disprove the allegations and requested available findings during the coming week, given the deadline for election appeals.Channel 13 reported that investigators were examining whether money moved through currency exchangers and local institutions along routes previously used to transfer funds for terrorist organisations. The suspected purpose was to influence voting in Arab communities through unlawful means. The source of the money, its recipients and how it was used remain unclear.Separate bribery case and political accusationsMeanwhile, police arrested four more men on Thursday in a separate investigation into suspected election bribery involving Ra’am voting slips. Three southern Israeli residents had been arrested on election day, and police said cash and Ra’am voting slips were found during searches. Authorities have said the case is not connected to the suspected foreign funding.Likud has separately alleged that Arab parties “stolen” the election through bribery, intimidation and fraud, and said it was submitting evidence to the authorities. Police, however, said they had no investigative or intelligence support for the broader claim that the election had been stolen.Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh called the accusations a “racist blood libel”, while Democrats chairman Yair Golan said genuine allegations should be investigated but accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to delegitimise Arab voters.Also, an investigation does not automatically invalidate election results. Under Section 86 of Israel’s Knesset Elections Law, an election appeal must generally be filed with the Jerusalem District Court within 14 days of the results being published.Thereafter, the court can order a fresh vote or correct the allocation of seats if unlawful conduct is shown to have potentially affected the outcome. The law also states that an election appeal does not suspend the Knesset’s work.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.