Election Committee Head Orders Shin Bet Probe into Foreign Election Funding and Bribery

The Chairman of the Election Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, has officially instructed the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini, to launch an investigation into suspicions of foreign funding and election bribery by foreign entities. The directive came after Zini presented Sohlberg with information described as "exceptionally grave." Sohlberg stated that the suspicions involve improper influence through foreign funding from external actors working against Israeli interests during the elections. "I cannot testify to the nature of these suspicions, but it seems to me, given that the suspicions concern external actors, there is a duty to investigate them properly, in order to maintain the integrity of the Knesset elections and prevent illegal activity aimed at harming the democratic regime and preventing subversion," wrote the judge, without specifying the foreign entity involved. Sohlberg explicitly instructed Zini to "do everything in your power to investigate the matters of these suspicions and use the General Security Service's capabilities to find evidence to substantiate these suspicions or refute them." He emphasized that this is necessary to ensure public trust in the electoral process and the integrity of the democratic procedure. Sohlberg demanded that Zini present the investigation's findings, if any, within one week, due to the timelines for vote counting.