Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Chief of Staff, Ido Norden, transferred information to the Israel Police that led to the arrests of three Arab Ra’am party activists on Tuesday on suspicion of election bribery, N12 News reported on Thursday.
The three Bedouin suspects, residents of the Segev Shalom and Ar’ara BaNegev communities, are suspected of attempting to bribe citizens on the eve of Election Day to vote for Ra'am.
According to N12, Norden called senior police officials and provided details that initiated the investigation and led to the arrests. Lahav 433 now has jurisdiction over the case.
Netanyahu called for a formal investigation following the arrests, saying that the suspects were "in possession of envelopes containing cash, along with ballots for [Ra'am party chairman] Mansour Abbas."
“Right-wing voters, dear Likud voters, in the face of attempts to compromise the integrity of the elections, you must go out and vote Mahal, vote Likud for the sake of our country!” Netanyahu said in response to the incident.
“We categorically reject attempts by elements within the police to link Ra’am to the compromising of electoral integrity,” the Ra’am party said in response. “The activists were arrested at their homes hours before the polls opened, not in the vicinity of polling stations or voters.”
“These are baseless arrests intended to undermine Ra’am and suppress voter turnout within Arab society, as part of [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir’s political exploitation of Israel Police.”
Senior officials told N12 that the case is unlikely to lead to an indictment and that the suspects explained the source of the money in question.
Abbas denied involvement in alleged Qatar-linked election interference
Earlier on Thursday, Abbas denied claims that he was involved in a separate, alleged election interference scheme via Qatar, saying he backs an investigation into the matter and claiming that Netanyahu employs Qatari agents.
"Ra'am welcomes the decision of Central Elections Committee (CEC) Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg to investigate suspicions of an attempt to improperly influence the elections through foreign funding," said Abbas. "And to Abu Yair [Netanyahu], who employs Qatari agents in his office, we have one message in response to the campaign of incitement and delegitimization he is conducting against Arab citizens: 'There will be nothing, because there is nothing.' Unlike you, with us this is the truth and not another lie."
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) launched an investigation into suspicions that foreign entities, potentially including Qatar and Turkey, funneled money into Israel to influence voting in Arab communities.
The investigation, begun following a directive issued by Sohlberg, was initiated amid "severe suspicions... regarding improper influence through foreign funding by entities acting against Israeli interests during the elections," the Shin Bet stated.
Jonah Davidov and Corinne Baum contributed to this report.