Israeli Police Investigate Likud Over Alleged False Declaration in State Comptroller Vote

The Israeli Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, has instructed the police to investigate allegations that the Likud party submitted a false affidavit to the Supreme Court regarding the vote for the State Comptroller. The investigation centers on claims that Likud members of Knesset were ordered to film their votes during the election of Michael Regev as State Comptroller, which the party previously denied.

The Supreme Court invalidated Regev's appointment after ruling that filming the votes violated the secrecy of the ballot and was unlawful. Likud had declared in court that no instructions were given to record the voting, and any filming was voluntary. However, MK Sharren Haskel submitted a supplementary affidavit contradicting this, stating that members were indeed instructed to film their votes and that the footage was sent to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Due to this direct contradiction between Haskel's affidavit and Likud's earlier statements, the Attorney General ordered the police to take an open testimony from Haskel. If her claims are confirmed, a criminal investigation may be launched into the submission of a false affidavit to the Supreme Court.

Haskel's affidavit was submitted as part of her petition to split from the Right-Wing Religious faction after resigning as Deputy Foreign Minister. The controversy arose during a repeated voting round for the State Comptroller, where members of the New Hope party were allegedly required to document their votes. This contradicts affidavits from Likud CEO David Sharan and several Likud MKs who denied any such directive.

The police are currently reviewing the evidence before deciding whether to open a formal criminal investigation into the matter.