Follow-Up: Israel's Election Chief Asks Shin Bet to Probe Suspected Foreign Interference Within a Week Amid Qatar Funding Claims
Two days after Israel's election, Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg — also deputy chief justice of the Supreme Court — wrote on October 29 to Shin Bet director David Zini asking the security service to investigate suspected foreign interference in the election within one week. Sohlberg stated plainly that he could not attest to whether the suspicions were valid and was asking for them to be examined; the tight deadline reflects the statutory window for appeals against the results.
According to Israel's Channel 12 and other outlets, the suspicions involve Qatari money: claims that Qatar, partly through channels linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, funded efforts to boost Arab voter turnout by allegedly unlawful means. Zini had briefed Sohlberg that the situation was "extremely serious."
The ruling Likud party has separately alleged fraud and bribery by Arab parties. Israel Police said their assessment does not support claims of widespread fraud. On election eve, police arrested three men in the south on suspicion of bribing voters to support the Arab party Ra'am.
Qatar's foreign ministry categorically denied the interference claims. Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas denied any connection to such funds and said he would cooperate fully with any investigation. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp of running an illegitimate influence campaign, and the committee's acting director general, Dean Livne, said allegations of "systematic violations" had no basis.
As GSM reported earlier, final results gave Netanyahu's bloc 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, the opposition 48, and the two Arab lists about 19 combined, with coalition negotiations under way.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图为位于耶路撒冷的以色列议会大楼（图源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0） / The Knesset building in Jerusalem (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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