Shin Bet to investigate suspicions of bribery and foreign interference in Israeli elections

Following accusations of bribery and reported attempts to compromise the integrity of the recent elections, Central Elections Committee (CEC) chairman Noam Sohlberg instructed the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet to investigate the matter on Thursday morning.

In a letter released to Israeli media, CEC chairman and Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg instructed Shin Bet head David Zini to investigate suspicions of foreign funding and improper influence by foreign entities on the elections.

According to Channel 13, the Shin Bet has been investigating channels used to funnel foreign funds, including from Qatar and Turkey, to organizations that encourage voting in Israel's Arab society. The Arab parties saw a surprising, record-high voter turnout in Tuesday's elections.

“According to the suspicions being investigated, in some cases the channels used to transfer the funds resemble or overlap with routes previously used to transfer terrorist funds. These include money changers, local institutions in those countries, and similar channels," the channel reported.

“Serious suspicions have been brought to my attention regarding improper influence on the elections – exerted through foreign funding by external entities acting against Israeli interests,” Sohlberg wrote in a letter titled "Directive to Investigate Suspicions Regarding Foreign Funding and Alleged Election Bribery by Foreign Entities."

Sohlberg admitted that he did not have any concrete evidence of foreign election interference.

BREAKING: An earthquake in the Israeli elections! The Elections Committee Chairman, Supreme Judge Solberg, instructs the Shin-Bet to investigate a major foreign campaign intended to influence the elections in Israel. Allegedly large sums of money from Arab countries (Qatar?) were funneled through illegal terrorist organizations related entities to increase voter turnout among Israeli Arabs Solberg is asking to conduct a swift investigation, using all the means necessary and have its findings delivered next week Voter turnout in the Arab community in the current elections has seen a huge increase. Historically the Arab community's turnout averaged 55%. Two days ago it passed 75%

— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) October 29, 2026

“I cannot attest to the substance of these allegations; nonetheless, given that they involve foreign entities, there is an obligation to investigate them,” he told Zini.

Given the sensational nature of the claims, which followed similar claims from the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier, Sohlberg instructed ZIni to use the Shin Bet’s resources to either substantiate or refute the claims.

“I instruct you to do everything in your power to investigate these suspicions, and to utilize the authority of the Israel Security Agency [Shin Bet] to uncover evidence that either substantiates or refutes them,” he instructed Zini.

Justice Sohlberg als asked ZIni to present his findings within one week, in order to meet the deadline for filing an election appeal based on the investigation.

He stated that the purpose of the investigation is to “ensure public trust in the electoral process and the integrity of the democratic procedure.”

“The integrity of elections is the heart of democracy. Remove that integrity from democracy, and you strip it of its vitality,” Sohlberg wrote in the letter.

Several of the right-wing coalition parties raised concerns about the possibility of foreign influence on the elections, after three Arab residents of the Negev were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of trying to bribe voters with cash to vote for the Ra’am party.

During the arrest, Israel Police found envelopes containing tens of thousands of shekels in cash, along. with ballots for the Ra’am party of Mansour Abbas.

According to the “Choosing Life” forum, a group comprised of bereaved families and surviving victims of terror attacks, one of the individuals arrested is part of an organization called Aid 48, which has been previously shown to have transferred funds to Hamas through a Muslim charity in Turkey called “Khair Ummah.”

The Aid 48 organization is the social arm of the Islamic Movement, of which the Ra'am party is the political wing. According to the previous investigation, Aid 48 transferred around NIS 400,000 ($120,000 at that time) to the Hamas charity in 2021.

Following those accusations, and the launching of investigations into the organization, Israel’s Bank Leumi blocked Aid 48’s accounts in 2024. At that time, the bank’s compliance officer said, “The amount of red flags surrounding the 'Aid 48' association is amazing, it is shocking, I have never seen such an association, and we are investigating a lot.”

At time of publication, no evidence linking the alleged bribery attempt and Aid 48 had been presented by Israel Police.

On Wednesday, the Likud party handed over materials to the CEC alleging election bribery in the Arab sector. Included in the materials were reportedly audio recordings of Arab citizens who admitted using cash or fuel cards to bribe people to vote for Arab parties.

“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the destruction of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses involving bribery, threats, violence, forgery, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters,” Likud said in a statement Wednesday.

However, the Israel Police on Thursday morning rejected the claims, saying, “Election day passed with a small number of unusual incidents concerning electoral integrity, even compared with previous elections. It should be emphasized that there is no investigative or intelligence evidence to support the claims.”