Amit Segal on Elections Committee probe: Never happened

Following the dramatic development revealed this morning, in which Judge Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, instructed Shin Bet chief David Zini to open an urgent investigation into suspected improper influence on the elections and massive-scale election bribery, political analyst Amit Segal has published his first response, raising sharp questions about the political and security implications.

In his remarks, Segal addresses the public stature of the Deputy President of the Supreme Court and the dramatic weight of the move: "Never before has such a dramatic letter been issued by the chairman of the Central Elections Committee regarding election manipulation. Judge Solberg is not a person who exaggerates in his formulations, and this time it is an exceptionally severe warning: suspicion of improper influence and manipulation of results through foreign funding --- and according to the suspicion, this involves Qatari money on a massive scale."

"Unprecedented turnout surge in the Bedouin sector"

Segal points to the on-the-ground data that set off red lights at the Central Elections Committee and other oversight bodies:

"The background: the increase in turnout in the Bedouin sector in particular and in Arab society in general is unprecedented in the history of the state (in Rahat, for example, approximately 80% turnout was recorded). Solberg believes that information should be examined according to which this surge was achieved with foreign funds for the purpose of harming the state."

Segal closes his remarks with a sharp political jab directed at the media timing and the political discourse that has accompanied recent years: "And it's hard not to wonder: after all, we were told again and again that Netanyahu works for Qatar — so why would Qatar invest enormous sums to bring down a government that works for it?"

The drama at the height of vote counting

As a reminder, Judge Solberg's approach to the head of the service comes at the height of the counting of double envelopes at the Elections Committee, when every mandate may determine the picture of the blocs and the question of forming the next government.