The Mossad is reportedly joining the investigation into suspected foreign interference in the elections and will assist the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in areas falling under its remit, namely, the possibility that Qatar was behind payments to the Joint List’s apparatus, according to reports from Israeli media on Friday.
The referral follows the Shin Bet’s initial investigation into suspicions that foreign entities, potentially including Qatar and Turkey, funneled money into Israel to influence voting in Arab communities, following a directive from Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg to investigate suspected foreign funding and election bribery.
Investigators are examining, among other possibilities, whether Qatar was behind payments to the Joint List’s party apparatus. However, according to the information provided, the suspicions have no bearing on the election results and are not expected to affect them later.
Elections Committee: “The reports that were published are unfounded”
Acting Central Elections Committee director-general Dean Livne said overnight that reports of suspected attempts to sway the election for the 26th Knesset were unfounded.
“Further details cannot be disclosed, but reports published during the day are entirely unfounded,” he said in a recorded statement issued with the approval of committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg.
Livne said the Shin Bet opened the investigation after classified intelligence was presented to Sohlberg.
“Yesterday, the head of the Shin Bet presented classified intelligence to the committee chairman, which led to the opening of the investigation,” he said.
He added that, with Sohlberg’s approval, the main points of the intelligence were also presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid and Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot.
Livne stressed that very few people had access to the information because of its high security classification. He said the investigation did not focus on any particular community and would not change the election results submitted to Israel’s president.
Once the investigation is complete, its findings will be submitted to the Central Elections Committee chairman to assess its scope and implications. The committee pledged to update the public as soon as possible, subject to security restrictions.
Jonah Davidov and Corinne Baum contributed to this report.
