Israel’s election chief has ordered a security investigation into “serious suspicions” that foreign governments illegally funded efforts to boost Arab voter turnout in Tuesday’s parliamentary election, following an unprecedented surge that dramatically reshaped the country’s political landscape.
The investigation, revealed Thursday, comes after Arab turnout reportedly soared from 53.2 percent in the previous election to approximately 80 percent, propelling Arab parties to a record 19 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset and leaving neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the Jewish-led opposition with a governing majority. Israeli media have identified Qatar, Turkey, and other foreign countries in reports concerning the suspected interference.
Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of Israel’s Central Elections Committee, issued the directive Wednesday after receiving intelligence from the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency, concerning possible foreign involvement in the election.
“Serious suspicions have been brought to my attention regarding improper influence on the elections — exerted through funding provided by foreign entities acting against Israeli interests,” Sohlberg wrote to Shin Bet Director David Zini in a letter made public Thursday.
“While I cannot attest to the substance of these suspicions, it is my view that — given they involve foreign entities — there is an obligation to investigate them thoroughly,” he added.
Sohlberg instructed the agency to determine whether evidence substantiates or refutes the allegations and requested its findings within a week, citing the limited period available for challenging election results.
The investigation began before Tuesday’s vote, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, which cited a security official saying the Shin Bet had opened its inquiry within the preceding two weeks based on intelligence indicating possible foreign interference.
“We understand that there is something problematic, and we are investigating it seriously to fully extract all the information,’ the official said, adding that further details were expected to emerge in the coming days.
The Shin Bet subsequently clarified that its intelligence had been gathered independently and did not originate with Netanyahu’s Likud party or any other political faction. The agency said no political party had access to the intelligence before the election concluded.
According to Israeli media reports, investigators are examining whether foreign governments transferred money into Israel through intermediaries and local organizations to influence voter mobilization in Arab communities.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported that investigators were examining suspected transfers through currency exchangers and local institutions along financial routes previously used to move terrorist funds. Other reporting has raised questions about possible connections to organized crime figures and individuals involved in Arab politics.
Israeli media have identified Qatar and Turkey as possible sources of the suspected funding, while Channel 12 has reported that additional foreign countries may also be involved. Neither the countries responsible nor the alleged recipients and use of the funds have been established publicly.
Qatar has categorically denied interfering in Israel’s election or financing efforts to influence the result. Turkey has also rejected allegations of involvement.
The investigation follows an extraordinary increase in participation among Israel’s Arab citizens, whose turnout reportedly approached 80 percent Tuesday, compared with 53.2 percent in the November 2022 election.
The increase of nearly 27 percentage points represents roughly 50 percent higher turnout relative to the previous election, an unprecedented surge that far exceeded pre-election expectations and was particularly pronounced in several Arab communities.
In Umm al-Fahm, turnout nearly doubled, jumping from 38.3 percent in 2022 to 75.7 percent Tuesday. Participation in the Bedouin city of Rahat climbed from approximately 60.6 percent to 82 percent, while Sakhnin recorded turnout of 86.8 percent.
The figures also exceeded expectations within the Arab political camp itself, where internal polling had reportedly anticipated turnout of approximately 61 percent, with mobilization efforts targeting participation closer to 70 percent.
The unprecedented surge translated into a historic electoral breakthrough for Israel’s Arab parties, significantly altering the parliamentary balance.
The Islamist Ra’am party, led by Mansour Abbas, and the Joint List, an alliance bringing together the communist-rooted Hadash party and the Arab nationalist Ta’al and Balad factions, secured a combined 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, surpassing the previous record of 15 seats won by a united Arab list in 2020.
With counting completed Thursday, Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc held 53 seats, compared with 48 for the Jewish-led opposition and 19 for the Arab parties, leaving both major political camps short of the 61 seats required to form a government.
Under Israel’s proportional representation system, the surge in Arab participation increased the parliamentary strength of the Arab parties while affecting the allocation of seats among the competing political blocs.
The results have left Israel facing a political deadlock, with opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc unable to reach a majority without support from Arab lawmakers whom several of its constituent parties have already ruled out as coalition partners.
Cooperation with the Joint List would present an especially contentious obstacle, given its anti-Zionist factions and longstanding opposition to joining Israeli governments.
Netanyahu’s Likud party accused the Arab factions Thursday of stealing the election through alleged voter bribery, intimidation, forgery, and illegal efforts to mobilize voters, as the prime minister publicly questioned possible foreign involvement in the unprecedented turnout.
Likud said it had submitted evidence to police, the Shin Bet, and election authorities, including allegations involving prohibited voter-mobilization software and other suspected irregularities.
Netanyahu had warned supporters during Tuesday’s voting that unusually high Arab turnout threatened to cost the right its parliamentary majority, urging his political base to mobilize before polls closed.
Following disclosure of Sohlberg’s investigation, Likud warned that no Zionist party should form a government dependent on Ra’am or the Joint List, accusing foreign actors of attempting to influence the composition of the Knesset through improperly financed votes.
The party described the suspected interference as an attack on Israeli democracy intended to facilitate a foreign takeover of the Knesset and remove the right from power.
The foreign-interference allegations emerged alongside separate police investigations into suspected election bribery, including arrests involving alleged efforts to pay voters.
Israeli police detained three suspected Ra’am activists on election day, while four additional suspects were arrested Thursday in connection with allegations of election-related payments.
Authorities have not established that the suspected bribery offenses were connected to the foreign-funding operation being examined by the Shin Bet.
Israeli security officials have cautioned that the suspected foreign operation may have been more limited than initial reports suggested, while the Shin Bet stressed Thursday that its investigation remained incomplete and was focused on specific suspected offenses.
The agency also warned against casting suspicion on an entire voting community, emphasizing that its inquiry did not implicate Arab citizens who participated lawfully in the election.
Acting Central Elections Committee Director-General Dean Livne separately rejected allegations of systematic voting fraud, saying authorities had found no evidence of widespread irregularities, while distinguishing those claims from the classified intelligence concerning possible foreign funding that prompted Sohlberg’s investigation.
President Isaac Herzog called Thursday for a thorough investigation and punishment of anyone found responsible, saying election integrity was a fundamental democratic principle.
‘The evidence and suspicions must be thoroughly investigated, and the offenders must be investigated and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Herzog said.
“But even at a moment like this, we must avoid tarnishing an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy,” he added.
Eisenkot also called for an investigation but warned against using unsubstantiated allegations to challenge the election results or obstruct the formation of a new government.
The completed election count is scheduled for formal certification on November 4, while Sohlberg has requested the Shin Bet’s findings within a week of his Wednesday directive.
The investigation now centers on whether foreign governments illegally financed efforts to influence Arab voter participation, whether those efforts involved criminal intermediaries or election bribery, and whether any unlawful activity affected the allocation of Knesset seats in an election that delivered unprecedented representation to the Arab parties and left Israel without a clear governing majority.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.