The head of Israel’s internal security service, David Zini, has requested from the General Prosecution authorization to interrogate four Arab political leaders, including the Raam party leader, Mansur Abbas, for their alleged involvement in interference in the elections held last Tuesday. The request has already been rejected by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which considers that there is insufficient evidence against them.
The head of Shin Bet has asked the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, to allow taking a statement from Sami Abu Shehadeh, president of Balad; from Ahmad Tibi; and from a fourth parliamentarian, both members of the Joint List.
As the Israeli network i24 has reported, this latest deputy would be a member of the Knesset “whose identity cannot be made public.”
In response to this request, the attorney general has reiterated that “in a state of law, it is impossible to interrogate citizens or elected officials without evidence that justifies it.”
In a statement released by the newspaper 'The Times of Israel', Baharav-Miara urged Shin Bet to provide all the information it has and that “justifies an investigation.”
From the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the attorney general has been accused of blocking the clarification of a supposed network of foreign interference in Israeli elections, a case that Likud itself denounced last Thursday under the name 'Ra'amgate'. “Tonight’s publications are an earthquake for Israeli democracy,” the party said.
“Baharav-Miara is preventing Shin Bet from investigating (...) It is acting to cover up and derail the investigation into the manipulation of the elections,” the party said on social media, where it also criticized “selective application of the law.”
In prior messages, Likud had called on the attorney general to “stop its attempts to cover up and delay the investigation into the case of foreign interference in the elections, to stop putting obstacles in Shin Bet’s way, and to allow the investigation of the deputies of the Arab parties and their assistants.”
The party has also brought up the words of Judge Noam Solberg, president of the Central Elections Committee, who at first pointed to the possible involvement of external actors who would have tried to influence the process and bribe voters to benefit Arab parties, although later he ruled out the existence of electoral fraud.
Joint List accuses Shin Bet of acting in Netanyahu’s service
The Joint List led by Ayman Odeh has reminded that the current head of Shin Bet was appointed by Netanyahu and has accused him of "acting as a political arm in the service" of the prime minister.
In statements collected by the same newspaper, the coalition has denounced that "Netanyahu is clinging to power and trying to delegitimize the Arab population, which turned out in force at the polls to vote against his Government," stressing that the two Arab lists have achieved an unprecedented result and now add up to 19 seats in the Knesset.
"We will not allow Netanyahu and Zini to turn the votes of hundreds of thousands of Arab citizens into a threat to security and to their elected representatives as suspects," the group added.
Eisenkot warns of a "dangerous constitutional crisis"
The opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot has accused Netanyahu and Likud of trying "to carry out an attack against democracy and the rule of law," something he linked to his "desperation" in the face of difficulties forming a government despite having won the elections with 27 seats.
"They are trying to drag all of us into a dangerous constitutional crisis. Unfortunately, it is not the first time. That is precisely why they are not worthy or fit to remain in power. That is why the majority of the citizens of Israel voted against their continuing in office," he emphasized on his social networks.
The leader of the Yashar party has warned that "at this difficult time (...) they are trying to undermine citizens’ trust in the election results," while defending that "officials of the security system, of the law-enforcement forces and of the public administration of Israel are at the service of the State, not of the king." "Citizens of Israel, stand firm. This is a decisive moment for the future of the country as a democratic and liberal state," he called for.
Former prime minister Yair Lapid, for his part, has warned of "a direct threat to our democracy by people who are not willing to accept their defeat."
"What we are seeing tonight is an attempt to smash democracy and rig the elections with the help of the power's puppets in the security sphere," he warned on his social media.
In the same message, he urged "all" the institutions of the State to remain "firm" in the face of the maneuvers of the head of the Executive and his party partners, and he asked the members of Yesh Atid "to set aside their differences" in order to form an alternative government to Netanyahu and his allies "as soon as possible."