Likud Accuses Palestinian Leader, Israeli Opposition of Election Interference

The Likud party escalated its attacks on a Haaretz report concerning a supposed warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to the October 7th Hamas attacks. Initially denying the report's content, Likud now alleges Palestinian and Israeli figures are collaborating with foreign entities to interfere in Israeli elections, demanding a criminal investigation.

In a strongly worded statement, Likud claimed the "real issue" exposed recently is "blatant foreign interference in Israeli elections." The party accused expelled Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, residing in the UAE, of being behind the information published by Haaretz journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruti Yuval. Likud asserted that Dahlan, "who wants to bring down the right-wing government led by Netanyahu," is motivated by a desire to control Gaza and needs a "weak left-wing government" led by figures like Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Avigdor Lieberman, and Arab parties to achieve this.

Likud further alleged that Dahlan formed a joint list with Hamas for Palestinian Authority elections, linking this to a supposed Palestinian interest in Netanyahu's government falling. The party did not provide evidence for these claims. The statement also personally attacked Eldar, alleging he received funds from a left-wing association linked to Yair Golan's party to spread "falsehoods," without specifying the funding or its connection to the report's publication.

Likud also implicated Golan and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, suggesting their alleged secret visit to the UAE two months prior might be connected to the Haaretz report. The party demanded a criminal investigation into Eldar, Yuval, Haaretz, Golan, and the Democratic Party for suspected election interference in collaboration with foreign entities.

This escalation follows Netanyahu's directive to file a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz and Eldar over the report, which stated bin Zayed warned Netanyahu about an impending "earthquake" from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied the conversation occurred, with his office stating his call logs and office entry records show no such meeting. The report, citing three senior foreign sources, detailed a 45-minute call where bin Zayed expressed concern over Sinwar's plans, which Netanyahu allegedly downplayed and did not relay to security chiefs. The investigation also revealed a separate September 15th warning to the Shin Bet about Sinwar's "earthquake" threat, which then-Shin Bet head Bar reportedly followed up on with Netanyahu.

Likud's move occurs amid the ongoing political and security accountability debate for the October 7th failures, with Netanyahu continuing to blame former security leaders. Conversely, opposition leaders have called for a thorough investigation into the Haaretz report, asserting the Israeli public deserves to know what happened and accusing Netanyahu of obstructing a formal inquiry and trying to shift blame solely to the security establishment, claiming he ignored "serious warnings."