The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) is investigating suspicions that a current Joint List member received thousands of shekels from Qatar, which were then used by the party during the election campaign.
Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS first reported the matter on Sunday. The suspected member of the Joint List (comprising the Arab parties Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad) had not been named as of Sunday afternoon.
Several possibilities about how the money was used are being examined, including general campaign financing and election bribery.
At this stage, investigators noted, they have no evidence of what the money was used for. It is also unclear what piece of evidence suggests that the funds originated from Qatar.
This comes after the Shin Bet began investigating suspicions that foreign entities, potentially including Qatar and Turkey, funneled money into Israel to influence voting in Arab communities. Central Elections Committee (CEC) chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg called for the investigation to be opened on Thursday.
Joint List MK allegedly received Qatari funds during election campaign
Notably, N12 News reported that the Shin Bet had intelligence information about potential illegal money transfers before the election but did not inform the CEC, including Sohlberg.
In a separate incident, police rejected a broader Likud claim that the election was “stolen.” In a statement reported on Thursday morning, police said Election Day had seen relatively few election-integrity incidents and that they had no investigative or intelligence support for the allegations.
Qatar denied Likud accusations that it had interfered in Israel’s elections last week.
“We categorically deny allegations that Qatar has interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote on X/Twitter.
Ansari accused “certain Israeli politicians and their contacts in the media” of attempting to draw Qatar into Israel’s domestic political disputes following the elections.
Ben-Gvir calls for imprisonment of Knesset members proven to be involved in bribery
Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the allegations of foreign bribery as “extremely grave” and called for the imprisonment of anyone proven to have been involved in the alleged scheme.
“If it emerges that foreign funds were used for election bribery and to skew the results, this constitutes a shocking corruption scandal and a severe assault on democracy and the sovereignty of the State of Israel,” he said in a statement.
Ben-Gvir further urged that new elections be held as soon as possible if the suspected bribery is proven.