Israel's Elections Committee directs Shin Bet to probe allegations of foreign interference in Tuesday's poll

Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of Israel’s Central Elections Committee, has asked Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate allegations of foreign interference in Tuesday’s election, The Times of Israel reported.

“Serious suspicions have been brought to my attention regarding improper influence on the elections — exerted through funding provided by foreign entities acting against Israeli interests. While I cannot attest to the substance of these suspicions, it is my view that — given they involve foreign entities — there is an obligation to investigate them thoroughly,” Sohlberg wrote in his letter to Shin Bet according to Israeli media.

“Serious suspicions have been brought to my attention regarding improper influence on the elections — exerted through funding provided by foreign entities acting against Israeli interests. While I cannot attest to the substance of these suspicions, it is my view that — given they involve foreign entities — there is an obligation to investigate them thoroughly,” Sohlberg wrote in his letter to Shin Bet according to Israeli media.

The directive comes after incumbent Prime Minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu accused Arab parties of having “stolen” the election through bribery and intimidation. Sohlberg has asked Shin Bet to submit its findings within a week.

"The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters. The Likud party is transferring to the police, the Shin Bet, and the Central Elections Committee hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence regarding election theft in many Arab polling stations—thousands of envelopes with cash and Ra'am slips, threats and violence against polling station members, multiple voting behind the curtain, voting with double identities, discrepancies between the number of envelopes and the number of voters, the use of prohibited mobilization software, and more. We demand from the police and the Shin Bet a thorough investigation into the election theft by the Arab parties and the full prosecution of the criminals, Netanyahu had said.

A clear majority remains elusive for both major political blocs. Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud is projected to emerge as the largest party in the Knesset, with 26 seats. However, the Likud-led coalition, which includes United Torah Judaism, Shas and Otzma Yehudit, is projected to secure a combined 53 seats, falling short of the 61 required for a parliamentary majority.

The opposition bloc, comprising Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu and Yair Golan’s The Democrats, is projected to win 48 seats. Meanwhile, Arab parties, including the Joint List and Ra’am, are expected to secure 19 seats.

With neither bloc projected to reach the majority threshold independently, attention has shifted to the possible shape of the next government. Some have called on the anti-Netanyahu bloc to seek the support of Arab parties to assemble a parliamentary majority and prevent Netanyahu from retaining power.

With ANI inputs...