Shin Bet and Police to Launch Joint Probe Into Foreign Election Meddling
Shin Bet and Israel Police are set to meet following an agreement between agency chief David Zini and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over a foreign election interference probe.
Despite an explicit directive from the Central Election Committee chairman to establish a joint investigative team, Shin Bet has yet to transfer materials to the Israel Police regarding the foreign influence affair in the upcoming elections. Representatives from both agencies are scheduled to meet on Thursday to officially launch the joint task force.
The breakthrough follows a high-level agreement reached between Shin Bet Director David Zini and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to ease tensions and ensure institutional cooperation. The controversy began on Sunday when Central Election Committee Chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg, ordered the joint probe following preliminary intelligence pointing to covert foreign funding.
Preliminary intelligence indicates that substantial funds from foreign and potentially hostile states have been funneled into Israel to manipulate the electoral process, potentially involving thousands of individuals. Shin Bet emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and requires further intelligence gathering to establish a comprehensive picture of the network.
As part of the ongoing inquiries, Shin Bet is examining allegations that MK Ayman Odeh received hundreds of thousands of shekels from foreign sources to fund the Joint List campaign. Odeh strongly rejected the accusations, dismissing the affair as a politically motivated witch hunt orchestrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies.
