Shin Bet Probes Multiple Countries for Election Interference

Israel's Shin Bet security service is examining whether at least two countries beyond Qatar attempted to interfere in the elections for the 26th Knesset, according to a report Thursday evening on Channel 12 News. The investigation is looking into the possibility that multiple governments tried to actively influence the vote through improper means.

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar briefed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Solberg several weeks ago on intelligence gathered regarding foreign attempts to influence the election system, the report said.

At that stage, Bar explained that the Shin Bet was collecting intelligence on a "general direction" of influence attempts. But in recent days, additional intelligence material accumulated, leading the service to conclude it needed to move to an open investigation and collect evidence that could be used in legal proceedings.

Opening the formal investigation required approval from Justice Solberg, who instructed Bar to proceed with the probe.

But Channel 12 revealed an additional detail about the Shin Bet chief's conduct with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to multiple sources cited in the report, Bar briefed Netanyahu on the matter before meeting with Justice Solberg and requesting permission to speak with the prime minister about it.

In a meeting held Wednesday, Bar asked Solberg for approval to discuss the suspicions with Netanyahu. But according to the report, the justice was unaware that the Shin Bet chief had already met with the prime minister and updated him on details of the matter.

Later, after Solberg heard about the suspicions being examined by the Shin Bet, he himself spoke with Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, and shared the information with him. It was also reported that Bar met and spoke with both Eisenkot and Yair Lapid regarding the affair.

Alongside the expanding investigation, sources in the Elections Committee made clear that at this stage, the information being examined does not warrant affecting the election results.

According to them, "Claims of systematic bias or stolen elections are political manipulation of the suspicion being investigated. After we receive the results of the investigation, we will make decisions, but the election results will be submitted to the president as planned."

Therefore, alongside the continued examination of suspicions of foreign involvement, the Elections Committee is making clear that the process of submitting election results to the president is expected to proceed as scheduled.