Ben Gvir demands jail, new vote if bribery case proven

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of Otzma Yehudit, issued a sharp response Sunday to the investigation into suspected foreign funding and election bribery: "The suspicions against the MK are extremely serious. If it turns out that foreign money was used to bribe voters and skew election results, this is a shocking corruption scandal and a grave assault on democracy and the sovereignty of the State of Israel."

"If the suspicions are proven, I demand that the MK be brought to trial and that actual prison time be sought," Ben Gvir added. "And if it turns out the elections were skewed by means of these funds, we must act to hold new elections as soon as possible. No one is allowed to steal our elections from us. Anyone who sells elections for money belongs in prison, not in the Knesset of Israel."

The statement comes against the backdrop of a report published Sunday by i24NEWS, according to which one of the Joint List's MKs is at the center of an investigation after receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash. The report joins a series of disclosures about the probe into suspected foreign funding and election bribery in the Arab sector, which has expanded in recent days to unprecedented proportions.

Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Solberg instructed Shin Bet chief David Zinni to examine the suspicions of foreign funding of the elections and to submit findings on the matter. According to reports, the Shin Bet chief arrived at the Knesset unexpectedly and presented Solberg with a briefing on the service's operations following concerns of foreign influence on the elections.

Were funds transferred? (Photo: Chaim Goldberg, Flash 90)

Despite the unusual sums that allegedly passed to the MK, professionals caution that the picture is still complex. According to the report, at this stage investigators do not have solid evidence indicating that the cash was used for field operations on election day itself, or that it reached voters' pockets directly at polling stations. In addition, there is currently no evidence that the money's source and origin is in Qatar.

President Yitzchak Herzog addressed the investigation and made clear: "The evidence and suspicions must be investigated to the fullest, and offenders must be investigated and punished to the full extent of the law." At the same time, the president warned against sweeping generalizations: "Even at a moment like this, we must refrain from tarring an entire public that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy."

Photo: Avshalom Shoshani/Flash90, Chaim Tzach/GPO

According to details that have emerged, the Shin Bet has held the sensitive intelligence for several weeks. At the center of the investigation is the service's close monitoring of suspected illegal funneling of funds from Arab states identified with the Muslim Brotherhood stream, such as Qatar and Turkey, with the aim of incentivizing and raising turnout in the Arab sector.

The reason the Shin Bet did not act immediately upon receiving the initial intelligence was investigative-tactical: the organization preferred to wait for the moment when the bribery and transfer of funds would actually take place, in order to build a solid and unambiguous evidentiary foundation. After the offenses were allegedly committed and the funds began to flow, the Shin Bet approached the Central Elections Committee chairman and presented him with the intelligence materials that had been gathered.