Gideon Sa'ar Denies Forcing MKs to Record Vote on State Comptroller in Supreme Court Affidavit

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court rejecting claims made by MK Sharren Haskel that the New Hope party required its members to record their votes during the parliamentary election for State Comptroller. Sa'ar stated that these allegations are baseless and irrelevant, intended only to provoke media attention. He clarified that no directive was given by Likud or New Hope for MKs to photograph their votes, and that when rumors spread about such recordings, Sa'ar, then abroad, instructed party members not to do so. To his knowledge, no New Hope MK sent any voting footage.

Sharren Haskel testified for about 90 minutes at the Lahav 433 police unit in Lod, confirming her affidavit which alleges that New Hope members were instructed to record their votes and present the footage to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Police are considering expanding the investigation and summoning Likud MKs for open testimony, pending approval from the State Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The inquiry aims to determine whether false affidavits were submitted to the Supreme Court regarding the alleged order to document the vote.

Haskel's affidavit claims that New Hope had no independent stance on the State Comptroller vote and that members were required to support the Likud candidate without dissent, including recording their votes as proof. Likud denies any such instructions, asserting that any recordings were done voluntarily by MKs. The conflicting accounts prompted the Attorney General to order open testimony from Haskel to clarify who gave the directive.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court invalidated the State Comptroller election due to serious procedural flaws, including breaches of voting secrecy after several MKs recorded their votes. A new vote has yet to be scheduled and may not occur before the upcoming October elections. Meanwhile, Haskel, who resigned from the government over the law freezing arrests of absconders, is pursuing a legal battle to split from the National Right faction to maintain party funding and strengthen her political leverage.

The investigation could lead to criminal proceedings if it is found that false affidavits were submitted to the Supreme Court concerning the vote documentation.