PM's Chief of Staff Linked to Intelligence Source in Ra'am Activist Probe

A former employee of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office allegedly provided intelligence information to the police concerning three Ra'am activists arrested on election day, according to a Channel 12 report. The report states that on the day before the election, Netanyahu's Chief of Staff, Ido Nordan, contacted the Police Commissioner to complain about the activists. Understanding that a basis was needed for the complaint, Nordan reportedly directed the police to an intelligence source who allegedly possessed information on the activists. This source, who until recently worked in the Prime Minister's Office and was considered close to former Director General Yossi Shai, is said to have provided the crucial intelligence.

Based on Nordan's complaint and the former employee's information, the police conducted the arrests on election day. The report indicates that this sequence of events has raised questions within the office of the Legal Advisor to the Government, Gali Baharav-Miara, and the police's investigation department, prompting an inquiry.

Separately, the report also details a request by Shin Bet head Dov Zini to Baharav-Miara to allow surveillance of five Arab Knesset members, citing suspicions of foreign interference in the elections. The Legal Advisor reportedly rejected this request outright. Furthermore, Zini is quoted as telling National Unity Chairman Gadi Eisenkot after the election that "there have been reports since 2018 that Arabs are stealing elections in Israel. All the heads of Shin Bet ignored this. I came and raised this stone." This follows Zini's earlier request to investigate Hadash Chairman Ayman Odeh, Joint List member Ahmed Tibi, and Ra'am Chairman Mansour Abbas, despite a lack of evidence against them.

The Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Chief of Staff Ido Nordan connected the intelligence source to the police and did not deny that the source was a former employee. However, the office called the report "false," stating that Nordan acted as any law-abiding citizen would upon receiving criminal information and connected the individual to the police, denying any contact with intelligence or other investigative bodies. Gadi Eisenkot responded by stating that fair elections cannot occur while Netanyahu is in office and called for an immediate investigation into the affair and clarification from the police and Shin Bet, vowing to push for a state commission of inquiry into the Prime Minister's Office's involvement and the security agencies' conduct.