Following the information presented to him, Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg instructed Shin Bet Chief David Zini to investigate serious suspicions of foreign funding and election bribery. The suspicions under review involve the transfer of funds from Arab countries affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood to encourage voter turnout in Arab society.
Sohlberg approached Zini following information presented to him regarding suspicions of unlawful influence on the elections through foreign funding and election bribery by foreign actors. He instructed Zini to investigate the suspicions and locate evidence that could either substantiate or refute them.
Video: Joint List party celebrates after exit poll results announced (Video: Shmuel Buchris)
The suspicions are tied to the high voter turnout rates in the Arab sector in the Israeli elections for the 26th Knesset, which the Shin Bet has been examining for several weeks. Likud officials claim they submitted evidence that outside actors from Arab countries, such as Qatar and Turkey, transferred funds to encourage voters in Arab society to go to the polls. However, the initial information reached Sohlberg from the Shin Bet and did not necessarily rely on the materials submitted by Likud.
In his letter, Sohlberg wrote, "Serious suspicions have been brought before me of unlawful influence on the elections through foreign funding from outside parties working against the Israeli interest." Alongside that, he clarified, "I cannot attest to the nature of these suspicions."
Sohlberg asked Zini "to do everything in your power, to get to the bottom of these suspicions, and to use the General Security Service's powers to locate evidence to substantiate these suspicions or refute them." He added that they must be investigated "in order to preserve the integrity of the Knesset elections, and to prevent illegal activity aimed at undermining the foundations of the democratic regime."
Due to the timelines for filing election appeals and publishing final results, Sohlberg asked to receive findings, to the extent there are any, "in the coming week."
