Israeli PM's Office, Police, Shin Bet Probed Over Election Day Arrests

According to the report, the chain of events began the evening before the elections when Ido Norman, Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, contacted the Police Commissioner's office to complain about suspicious activity by Ra'am activists in the south. Norman allegedly directed the police to an informant, a former Prime Minister's Office employee close to former Director General Yossi Shali, who provided intelligence that was entered into police systems. This led to a raid by 14 police officers on the homes of three activists without search warrants. One of those arrested, Dr. Saif Abu Riash, a doctor from Rahat, was held for six days and prevented from voting. All three activists were eventually released due to a lack of evidence, as the suspicions of large sums of money and ballots intended to incentivize voting proved to be exaggerated.

Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly amplified these reports throughout election day to leverage his campaign. In a separate incident, Shin Bet head David Zini reportedly sought to wiretap and arrest Arab lawmakers over election interference concerns, but his requests were blocked by the Attorney General. The Prime Minister's Office vehemently denied the allegations, calling the report false, while opposition figures and businessman Roni Manoach called for immediate investigations and political action.