Mossad Joins Shin Bet Probe Into Election Interference

Israel's Mossad intelligence agency has joined the Shin Bet investigation into suspected foreign interference in the October 27 Knesset election. The Mossad is handling activity abroad. The Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, is covering operations inside the country.

The allegations involve tens of millions of shekels used to influence the vote. The Shin Bet asked for the Mossad's help. The Mossad will examine the parts of the case within its jurisdiction, chiefly whether foreign governments were behind the suspected influence operations. Qatar and Turkey are at the center of the inquiry, and both deny any involvement.

The probe focuses on suspected efforts to sway voters. It does not concern ballot tampering or errors in the vote count.

The case began with a letter from Justice Noam Sohlberg to Shin Bet Director David Zini. Sohlberg chairs the Central Elections Committee, which runs the vote, and is deputy president of the Supreme Court. He asked Zini to look into suspected foreign money and efforts to boost turnout, especially among Arab voters. He gave the Shin Bet one week to report back before the legal deadlines for finalizing the results.

"Given that these suspicions concern foreign actors, there is an obligation to investigate them thoroughly in order to safeguard the integrity of Knesset elections and prevent illegal activity intended to undermine the democratic system and engage in subversion," Sohlberg wrote.

Zini had briefed Sohlberg and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara several weeks earlier on a general intelligence lead. More material came in over recent days, and the Shin Bet moved to an overt investigation to gather evidence that could be used in legal proceedings. The agency said the information came from its own intelligence gathering under its statutory mandate and "does not come from any political party or political figure on either side of the political spectrum." It called the probe limited and narrowly focused.

Dean Livne, the committee's acting director-general, said that with Sohlberg's approval the core of the intelligence was shared with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot, who chairs the Yashar party. Livne said the vote itself was sound. "The Knesset elections were conducted lawfully," he said, adding that "there is no basis for claims of systematic violations of election integrity." As JFeed reported, he also said the investigation would not change the results submitted to Israel's president. The committee called claims of a stolen election "a political exploitation of the suspicions under investigation."

Netanyahu's Likud party accused Arab parties of "stealing the elections." It alleged that foreign countries had paid "coordinators" to bring voters to the polls.

President Isaac Herzog called on Thursday for a full investigation. "But even at a moment like this, we must not tarnish an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote," Herzog said. Eisenkot called foreign interference "unacceptable and extremely serious" and said the 26th Knesset must be sworn in on schedule.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari rejected the allegations. "They accuse us of buying Netanyahu, the left, and now the Arab vote. If all these accusations were to be believed, Qatar would apparently own all of Israel," he said. Ankara called the claims "completely baseless" and part of a "deliberate and blatant disinformation campaign."

Separately, The Telegraph reported that Iran had also sought to interfere in Israel's vote.

A trip to Doha by Joint List chairman MK Ahmad Tibi two days before the vote has drawn scrutiny in connection with the probe. On Saturday, Tibi said he traveled because the Arab television program that invited him refused to let him appear remotely. "It's the most prestigious program in the Arab world, I asked for Zoom, they refused," Tibi said.