Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg has instructed Shin Bet head David Zini to investigate suspected foreign funding and election bribery involving foreign entities. He asked for any findings within the coming week, citing the legal deadlines for filing an election appeal. The suspicions center on the Arab vote, which has left Arab parties holding 19 seats in a Knesset where neither bloc has a majority.
i24NEWS described the instruction as an unusual move. Sohlberg issued it in a letter after a briefing in which Zini presented him with information described as "exceptionally serious."
The allegations center on outside groups allegedly funding efforts to sway the election against Israel’s interests. Sohlberg stopped short of drawing conclusions, writing that he “cannot attest to the nature of the above suspicions.”
It’s not yet clear where the money came from. Journalist Amit Segal reported that large amounts of Qatari and Turkish money were funneled through terror-financing channels to drive up Arab turnout. According to The Jerusalem Post, the suspicion is that Arab groups poured large sums into illegally boosting turnout in the Arab sector.
