Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff, Ido Norden, provided information to the police that led to the arrest of three activists of the Arab Ra’am party over alleged vote-buying, according to a report by N12 News.
The three Bedouin suspects, residents of Segev Shalom and Ar’ara BaNegev, were arrested on Tuesday over allegations that they attempted to bribe voters ahead of Israel’s October 27 general election to secure votes for Ra’am.
N12 reported that Norden contacted senior police officials and supplied information that prompted the investigation and subsequent arrests. The case has since been transferred to the police’s Lahav 433 unit, which handles major investigations.
Following the arrests, Netanyahu called for a formal investigation, claiming that the suspects were found with envelopes containing cash and ballot papers bearing the name of Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas.
He also urged supporters of his Likud party to turn out for the election, alleging attempts to undermine the integrity of the voting process.
However, Ra’am rejected any attempt to link the party to electoral misconduct, describing the arrests as baseless and politically motivated.
The party said the activists were arrested at their homes hours before polling stations opened, rather than near voting centres or voters. It accused National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of using the police for political purposes to undermine the party and discourage voter turnout among Arab communities.
Meanwhile, senior officials told N12 that the case was unlikely to result in an indictment, adding that the suspects had provided explanations for the source of the money.
Separately, Abbas denied allegations linking him to an alleged election interference scheme involving Qatar, while welcoming an investigation into suspected foreign funding of political activities in Israel.
He also accused Netanyahu of employing Qatari agents in his office and dismissed the allegations against Ra’am as an attempt to discredit Arab citizens.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency, has opened an investigation into suspicions that foreign entities, including potentially Qatar and Turkey, channelled funds into Israel to influence voting in Arab communities.
The investigation followed a directive by Central Elections Committee Chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, amid concerns that foreign funding may have been used to improperly influence the election.
