Israeli top election official orders Shin Bet to investigate allegations of foreign interference with Arab vote
Israel’s Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg ordered Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate allegations of foreign interference, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party alleges was used to boost the Arab Israeli vote. Israel’s Arab voters turned out in unusually high numbers relative to other recent elections. Though they make up about 20% […]
Israel’s Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg ordered Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate allegations of foreign interference, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party alleges was used to boost the Arab Israeli vote.
Israel’s Arab voters turned out in unusually high numbers relative to other recent elections. Though they make up about 20% of Israel’s population, nearly every major party has ruled out working with them. Arab voters are most opposed to Netanyahu’s bloc, and on Election Day, the prime minister warned of a high turnout among Arab voters. On Wednesday, his Likud Party began claiming widespread fraud and illegal foreign influence, with Netanyahu declaring the election had been “stolen” by Arab parties through “serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters.”
” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/israeli-top-election-official-orders-shin-bet-to-investigate-allegations-of-foreign-interference-with-arab-vote.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/israeli-top-election-official-orders-shin-bet-to-investigate-allegations-of-foreign-interference-with-arab-vote.webp” alt=”Israeli elections” class=”wp-image-4783893″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/israeli-top-election-official-orders-shin-bet-to-investigate-allegations-of-foreign-interference-with-arab-vote.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/israeli-top-election-official-orders-shin-bet-to-investigate-allegations-of-foreign-interference-with-arab-vote.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/israeli-top-election-official-orders-shin-bet-to-investigate-allegations-of-foreign-interference-with-arab-vote.webp?resize=768,512 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>An Arab woman walks with a child next to a torn Likud party campaign ad featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, with a Hebrew message reading “We have one opportunity to win,” in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, a day after the elections in Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Sohlberg ordered Zini to investigate the matter on Thursday after the pair met on Wednesday, though he didn’t give a judgment on the veracity of the allegations.
“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,” he wrote in the letter, according to the Times of Israel. “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.”
Sohlberg instructed Zini to “do everything in your power to investigate these suspicions, utilizing the authority of the Shin Bet to uncover evidence that either substantiates or refutes them.”
“Only in this way can we ensure public trust in the electoral process and the integrity of the democratic procedure,” he continued, asking for the findings to be presented to him within a week.
Sohlberg didn’t name any countries in the letter, but Israeli media suspected Qatar and Turkey as alleged culprits.
Though Sohlberg was careful not to pass judgment on the allegations of foreign interference, Netanyahu spun the letter as confirmation of his allegations, even coining a new term for the scandal — Ra’amgate, referring to one of the two Arab-Israeli parties.
“The Ra’amgate affair is an earthquake. They stole the elections in Israel!” he said in a post on X.
“The judge Sohlberg’s statements about the involvement of foreign entities that interfered and bribed voters in favor of the Arab parties are an unprecedented shock,” Netanyahu added, describing it as “an attack on democracy whose purpose is to lead to a foreign takeover of the Knesset, the Islamization of Israel, and the overthrow of right-wing rule in order to lead to retreat and defeat of the IDF in all arenas – and primarily Iran.”
National Security Minister Ben Gvir, as usual, went a step further, saying the heads of the Arab parties should be arrested.
“The Shin Bet must order, already this morning, the arrest of the heads of the Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money, and of all other suspects in the affair, including figures in the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots, insofar as there is a legal basis for their arrest,” he said in a post on X.
United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas didn’t panic over Sohlberg’s letter, instead saying he welcomed the inquiry.
“Safeguarding the integrity of elections and upholding the rule of law are civic and democratic obligations that we have made our guiding principles. UAL has no connection whatsoever to this affair or any other, and we declare that we will fully cooperate with all law enforcement authorities to establish the truth,” he said.
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of cynically utilizing the allegations to cast doubt on the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the next parliament.
President Isaac Herzog urged an investigation, while warning against stigmatizing Arab voters.
With over 90% of the vote counted, Arab parties seized an unprecedented 19 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Netanyahu’s bloc took 53 seats, and Eisenkot’s opposition bloc took 48 seats. The only votes remaining to be counted on Thursday are double-envelope votes, which mostly come from Israel Defense Forces troops.
Whatever the veracity of the foreign interference and election fraud claims, analysts noted a slew of factors that led Arabs to come out to vote in much larger numbers than previous years.
“What mobilized many voters was the sense that the current government has engaged in an unprecedented campaign of delegitimization against Arab citizens and their political representatives,” Mohammad Darawshe, the director of strategy at Givat Haviva’s Center for Shared Society, a group that advocates Jewish-Arab equality, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. “People felt their citizenship, belonging, and legitimacy were being challenged. That created a strong motivation to participate politically rather than withdraw.”
He warned of the dangers of excluding or stigmatizing Arab voters, saying it could lead to bigger problems down the road.
“Continued exclusion risks increasing cynicism, alienation, and disengagement among Arab voters. More importantly, it will deepen polarization across Israeli society. A democracy cannot remain healthy when a fifth of its citizens are treated as politically illegitimate,” Darawshe said.
