Shin Bet chief sought to question Arab party leaders — Anadolu Agency
In Israel, Shin Bet security service chief David Zini sought to question three leaders of Arab parties as part of an investigation into possible foreign interference in the Knesset elections. However, law enforcement authorities found no evidence that would justify such questioning, Anadolu Agency reports, citing Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
According to KAN, the individuals are Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List (Ra'am); Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Ta'al party; and Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the Balad party. The broadcaster also reported that investigators have case-related information concerning another Knesset member.
Attorney General's position
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected Zini's request to classify the entire investigation as a matter of state security. According to the publication, this would have granted Shin Bet broader powers, including the ability to restrict suspects' access to lawyers, wiretap phones and collect communications data.
Baharav-Miara called the request unlawful. In a statement, she stressed that investigators need evidence in order to question citizens or elected officials as suspects, adding that Shin Bet or another body may submit materials that would provide grounds for such actions.
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According to the attorney general, Shin Bet did not transfer the collected materials to the special investigative team for two days, delaying the investigation. The team was formed on the recommendation of Central Election Committee chairman Noam Solberg and includes police investigators under the supervision of state prosecutors.
Reactions and voting results
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party accused Baharav-Miara of obstructing the investigation because she did not allow Shin Bet to use powers available in security cases. The United List said it would oppose attempts to portray the votes of hundreds of thousands of Arab citizens as a security threat or turn their elected representatives into suspects.
Yashar opposition party leader Gadi Eisenkot warned against using security services for political purposes. Likud accused Qatar of funding efforts to boost Arab voter turnout, but provided no public evidence of interference or large-scale fraud. Qatar rejected the accusations.
Solberg said that the law requires the final results to be published on Wednesday and that no one has the authority to delay them. According to the vote count, Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Eisenkot's opposition bloc won 48. The United List received 11 mandates and Ra'am won eight, meaning neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority.
