Shin Bet warns of suspected foreign interference in Israeli elections

The Shin Bet briefed the Central Elections Committee on suspected foreign interference, stating that intelligence indicates "widespread instances of large sums of money being funneled into Israel from foreign countries, originating from individuals or entities with hidden and even hostile interests." The agency assessed that "foreign funding and influence operations involving enormous sums of money appear to be a widespread phenomenon, involving thousands of people and possibly even more." The Shin Bet said additional intelligence-gathering and investigative activities are needed to establish the full extent of the phenomenon with high confidence.