Shin Bet chief seeks to question four Arab party leaders; attorney general says evidence must come first

Israel's Shin Bet security agency has asked to question four senior Arab politicians as suspects in a probe of suspected foreign funding during the Oct. 27 election, Israeli media reported on Tuesday. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said that no one would be questioned without evidence. Her stance drew sharp attacks from Likud and its allies, and praise from opposition leaders who accused the agency's chief of acting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The dispute broke out on the eve of the official results, which the Central Elections Committee is set to publish on Wednesday, Nov. 4. On Tuesday, a court in Beersheba also freed the sixth of seven suspects in a separate police case on alleged vote-buying for the Arab party Ra'am.

The four named in the reports lead or belong to the parties that most Arab citizens of Israel voted for. Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas said the reports were an "attempt to tarnish the Arab public." This report sets out what is known about the request, what each side said, and the dates ahead.

What the Shin Bet asked for

Shin Bet chief David Zini asked the attorney general to approve questioning four people under caution, i24NEWS reported on Tuesday. They are Ta'al chairman Ahmad Tibi, Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas, Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, and a fourth senior Knesset member whose name cannot be published. Abu Shehadeh was barred from running in the election, i24NEWS said.

Investigators are examining claims that sources in Qatar and Turkey funded campaigns to sway public opinion and voting, Ynet reported, citing the i24NEWS report. Qatar has called such claims "ridiculous and dangerous," Middle East Eye reported last week.

According to i24NEWS, the requests on three of the four were made orally, without supporting evidence. Only the request on the unnamed lawmaker came with a written opinion. Officials agree there are grounds to question him under caution, the outlet reported.

Officials agreed to set up a joint Shin Bet and police team on Sohlberg's recommendation, under the guidance of the State Attorney's Office. Two days later, the Shin Bet still had not handed over its material, according to i24NEWS and the attorney general's office.

A dispute over security powers

Ynet reported earlier on Tuesday on a wider dispute. Zini wanted the whole affair classed from the start as a suspected security offense, it said. That label would let the agency seek wiretaps, communications data and limits on suspects' access to lawyers.

Baharav-Miara refused, Ynet reported. She argued that the law does not allow such powers without evidence of a security offense. She said election bribery could be an ordinary criminal offense. If evidence of security offenses emerged, the matching tools could be approved, she said.

The two also disagreed over the wording of a public statement by Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, Ynet reported. Zini wanted it to describe suspected security offenses. The attorney general objected. Sohlberg settled on wording saying the claims "could have a security dimension."

Israel's N12 News reported that Sohlberg had earlier approved Zini's request to use technological and surveillance capabilities in the probe, The Jerusalem Post reported.

What the attorney general said

Baharav-Miara's office issued what the Post called a "highly unusual" statement on Tuesday. It said it was responding to "erroneous reports" by Likud and other coalition parties.

"It is not permissible to interrogate citizens or elected officials without evidence to justify such action," the statement said, according to the Post. It said Israel is a "state governed by the rule of law."

"Anyone who needs to be interrogated will be interrogated; however, individuals will not be subjected to interrogation in the absence of an evidentiary basis," her office said, according to i24NEWS. It invited the Shin Bet or any other body to present evidence that would justify questioning.

The office said the Shin Bet had "failed to transfer the collected investigative materials to the special investigative team." That was "effectively delaying the handling of the matter," it said. It added: "The law enforcement system is working swiftly and professionally to uncover the truth based on the material currently in its possession."

What Likud and its allies said

Likud called the reports "an earthquake for Israeli democracy," i24NEWS reported. It accused the attorney general of selective enforcement. It urged Sohlberg and the elections committee to uncover the facts.

In a later press release, Likud accused Baharav-Miara of "attempting to conceal the truth from the citizens of Israel," the Post reported. "She is tying the hands of the Shin Bet and refusing to allow an investigation, contrary to the position taken by CEC Chair Sohlberg, who supports a thorough and comprehensive probe into these serious allegations," the party said. "This is a recurring pattern of behavior."

Likud also said that Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan and other opposition leaders "are engaging in incitement and sedition against the heads of Israel's defense establishment." It added: "We must not allow this to happen; we must not let them cover up the truth and bury this grave affair."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of Otzma Yehudit wrote on X that the attorney general should be removed, the Post reported. He said she was "contaminating the investigation" and claimed the officials named had "stole[n] the elections."

What Ra'am said

Abbas rejected the reports. "The attempt to tarnish the Arab public is unacceptable. Neither I nor any of my colleagues in Ra'am fear any investigation," he said, according to i24NEWS.

"We are prepared to appear before any law enforcement authority, in accordance with the directives of the Attorney-General and the judicial system, both of which have demonstrated, time and again, that they are bound by the law rather than by other political actors," he said, according to the Post. "I call upon the state authorities to respect the will of the voters, to act with a sense of state responsibility toward all citizens, and to uphold the law."

Last week, Abbas denied claims that he took part in an alleged election scheme via Qatar, the Post reported. At the time, he said he backed an investigation.

What the opposition said

Golan, who leads the Democrats, wrote on X at 3:48 p.m. Eastern that Zini had "turned the Shin Bet into a political tool in the service of Netanyahu's campaign to undermine the election results," in the Post's translation. He said the next government should review Netanyahu's appointments, including Zini's.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid posted on X about an hour later. "What we are witnessing tonight is an attempt to crush democracy and steal the election with the help of government plants within the security establishment," he said, according to Israel National News. He urged his camp to form a government "as quickly as possible."

Opposition leaders backed Eisenkot for the first try at forming a government, though they split over the role of Arab parties.

The Ra'am vote-buying case

A separate police case has also fed the debate. On Tuesday, the Beersheba Magistrate's Court ordered the release of Hussein Masoudin, the Post reported. He is one of seven suspects in a probe of alleged vote-buying for Ra'am. Six of the seven are now out of police custody, though some remain under house arrest.

Masoudin was one of three men arrested on Election Day. Police said searches found envelopes of cash and Ra'am ballot slips. His lawyer, Maor Segev, called the probe political. Defense lawyers say the money was meant for charity.

One suspect, Ibrahim al-Garibi, remains in custody. On Monday, District Court Judge Dina Cohen accepted a police appeal and extended his remand until Wednesday, citing confidential material. On Sunday, Judge Eran Tzabari freed another suspect without conditions. He said the suspicion against him had weakened.

Police said last week they had no investigative or intelligence support for broader claims that the election was stolen, the Post reported. The police case is separate from the Shin Bet probe, and no link between them has been shown in public.

Where the certification stands

Sohlberg said on Sunday that even if the foreign-funding suspicions were confirmed, they would not undermine the election's results as a whole. We covered that statement in our report on Sohlberg's ruling that the results stand. On Monday he rejected a Likud demand for a briefing before the results were approved, the Post reported.

Last week, the Shin Bet itself described its inquiry as "targeted and limited." It said the inquiry "should not be used to cast suspicion or accuse an entire segment of the population that voted democratically and legally," Middle East Eye reported. Dean Livne, the elections committee's acting director general, said there was "no basis for allegations of systematic violations of election integrity."

The final count gave Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats, Eisenkot's bloc 48 and the two Arab-led lists, the Joint List and Ra'am, 19. With no bloc at 61, the Arab parties' seats are central to any opposition government, which is one reason their votes have become a focus of the post-election fight.

The grievance at the center

For many Arab citizens, the dispute touches a long-running complaint: that their votes are treated as suspect. Abbas framed the reports in those terms. Sohlberg and the Shin Bet have both warned against casting suspicion on Arab voters as a group.

Likud and its allies say the issue is foreign money, not Arab voters. They argue that the full facts must be known before the results can be trusted, and that the attorney general is blocking that.

The opposition says the probe is being used to cast doubt on a result that Netanyahu's bloc did not win. The attorney general says only that evidence must come first.

Dates ahead

The elections committee is set to publish official results on Wednesday. President Isaac Herzog will then hold consultations with the parties on who should try to form a government. United Torah Judaism has not yet said whom it backs.

The joint Shin Bet and police team cannot start work until it receives the agency's material. The attorney general has said she will approve questioning if evidence is presented. Al-Garibi's remand runs until Wednesday.

For how 567politics handles sources and disputed claims, see our methodology.

About this report

This report draws on i24NEWS, which first reported the request; Ynet; The Jerusalem Post's reports on the attorney general's statement, party responses and the Ra'am case; Israel National News; Middle East Eye; and a post by Yair Golan on X. Translations of Hebrew statements are those of the outlets cited. The Times of Israel could not be reached for this report. Times are Eastern.

Differing perspectives

Should Israel's Shin Bet be allowed to question Arab party leaders in its election-funding probe now?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• Let the Shin Bet investigate fully

  Who holds it: Likud; National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir

  Likud says the attorney general is tying the hands of the Shin Bet and refusing to allow a full investigation of serious allegations of foreign election funding. It says this conflicts with elections committee chair Noam Sohlberg's support for a thorough probe and fits a recurring pattern. It argues that the truth must not be covered up. Ben-Gvir says the attorney general should be removed over her handling of the case.

  In their words: The Jerusalem Post (Likud statement) ↗

• Question people only on evidence

  Who holds it: Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara

  The attorney general says the law does not allow the Shin Bet's expanded security powers, such as wiretaps and limits on access to lawyers, without evidence that a security offense took place. She says suspected election bribery can be an ordinary criminal matter. She has asked for evidence before approving questioning of three of the four politicians, and says fitting tools can be approved if such evidence emerges.

  In their words: Ynet ↗

• Respect Arab voters and the result

  Who holds it: Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas

  Abbas says the attempt to tarnish the Arab public is unacceptable and that neither he nor his Ra'am colleagues fear any investigation. He says they will appear before any law enforcement body under the directives of the attorney general and the courts, which he says follow the law. He calls on state authorities to respect the will of voters and act responsibly toward all citizens.

  In their words: i24NEWS ↗

• Treat the request as political pressure

  Who holds it: Democrats leader Yair Golan; opposition leader Yair Lapid

  Golan says Shin Bet chief David Zini has turned the agency into a political tool serving Netanyahu's effort to undermine the election results. He calls it a grave warning sign and urges opposition leaders to form a government quickly. He says the next government should review Netanyahu's appointments, including Zini's, so that security bodies serve the state and its citizens.

  In their words: Yair Golan on X ↗