Shin Bet Investigates Additional Countries' Involvement in Israeli Elections

Following the briefings, Justice Sohlberg authorized the open investigation and contacted Gadi Eisenkot, while Zini met with Eisenkot and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid. The Likud party cited the allegations of foreign funding, which reportedly may have come from Qatar and Turkey to influence voting in Arab communities, to claim the election was "stolen" by Arab parties. Arab party leaders have denied any wrongdoing, and opposition figures have accused Netanyahu and Likud of attempting to delegitimize the election results.

In response to the political friction, the Shin Bet emphasized that its investigation is targeted, limited, and based on its own intelligence rather than political sources, warning against using the probe to discredit Arab citizens who voted lawfully. The Central Elections Committee stated that the elections were conducted lawfully, dismissing claims of systematic integrity breaches or election manipulation as political exploitation, and confirmed that the ongoing probe will not affect the final results.