Shin Bet claims new evidence in foreign election interference probe despite police findings
At this stage, it remains unclear whether the additional material identified by the Shin Bet could change the findings.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) claims to have new evidence in its investigation of alleged foreign interference in Israel's elections, despite the Israel Police's conclusion that insufficient evidence exists to establish security offenses. The meeting of the joint investigative team, including representatives from the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and the State Attorney's Office, on Wednesday evening aims to review the additional material cited by the Shin Bet.
The investigation began after the Shin Bet received intelligence before the 26th Knesset elections, suspecting attempts to influence votes through funds from Iran, Turkey, Qatar, and the Arab community. The Attorney-General's Office initially disagreed with the Shin Bet's classification of the matter as a security investigation, as it did not accept the broad scope of the alleged foreign funding and influence.
Walla reported that the Mossad had completed its examination and submitted its findings to the Shin Bet, and police had submitted an assessment to the State Attorney's Office indicating difficulties in establishing grounds for security offenses. The investigation now focuses on suspicions of offenses related to political party financing, with the findings expected to be reviewed by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Despite Likud's request to delay publication of the election results until the investigation was completed, the decision remained unchanged.
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