Ben-Gvir Urges Arrests of Arab Party Leaders as Shin Bet Probes Alleged Foreign Election Funding

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the arrest of Arab party leaders, after the Central Elections Committee asked the Shin Bet to look into allegations of foreign interference in Israel's election.

In a written statement, Ben-Gvir said the Shin Bet should order the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected of involvement with Qatari funds "as early as this morning," along with all other suspects in the case. He included figures within the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots, provided there is a legal basis for their arrest.

The Shin Bet opened its investigation after a directive from Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg. He cited "severe suspicions.. regarding improper influence through foreign funding by entities acting against Israeli interests during the elections."

Investigators are examining possible funding channels, including suspected links to networks previously associated with terrorist organizations. They are also looking at reports that envelopes containing cash and voting slips for the Ra'am party were intercepted. According to preliminary Shin Bet inquiries, the suspected sources of the money include Qatar and Turkey.

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said he is in contact with the relevant officials. A spokesperson for Eisenkot said Israel must do everything in its power to protect the integrity of the elections and thoroughly investigate every complaint. The statement added that political actors must not be allowed to exploit the situation to influence the date of the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset.

Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman also demanded a full investigation. He described the suspicion of interference with foreign Islamist money as a testing ground for the State of Israel and said Arab party leaders must be questioned by the Shin Bet. "The State of Israel will not be sold to radical Islam with terror funds," he said.

Democrats party chairman Yair Golan took a very different view. He accused Likud of weaponizing state institutions and inventing the controversy for political gain. He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to challenge the election results through a campaign of delegitimization aimed against the will of the public, and the Arab public in particular. Golan said any real suspicion of harm to the purity of the elections must be fully investigated, but added that "the most serious Qatari betrayal and involvement took place in Netanyahu's office."

Within the coalition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich used language similar to Liberman's, calling the suspected interference a testing ground for the state and urging an immediate investigation into the leadership of Arab parties. Transportation Minister Miri Regev described the alleged incident as a "terror event intended to seize control of the Israeli Knesset and, afterward, the State of Israel," and an attempt to topple right-wing rule and replace Netanyahu.

United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yaakov Asher also weighed in, criticizing secular Israeli society. He wrote that those loyal to the Jewish people and its Torah had been treated as enemies, while suspicions were now emerging of vote buying with funds from enemy states.