Ra’am party chairman Mansour Abbas has denied allegations linking his party to a foreign-backed election interference scheme, while welcoming an investigation into suspected attempts to influence Israel’s October 27 general election.
Abbas, who leads the United Arab List, made the statement on Thursday after the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency, opened an investigation following a directive from Central Elections Committee Chairman and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg.
The investigation is examining suspicions of improper foreign funding, including alleged links to networks previously associated with terrorist organisations. Reports of cash-filled envelopes and voting slips for Ra’am being intercepted are also being investigated.
Abbas welcomed the probe but accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the allegations to incite against Arab citizens. He also criticised Netanyahu over alleged Qatari links involving people working in his office.
“Unlike you, with us this is the truth and not another lie,” Abbas said, rejecting claims of wrongdoing by his party.
Preliminary findings reportedly point to suspected funding channels linked to Qatar and Turkey, although the allegations have yet to be fully established.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has called for a thorough investigation, describing electoral integrity as a fundamental democratic value. He urged authorities to investigate the suspicions and prosecute anyone found guilty, while warning against blaming the entire Arab population for the alleged activities.
Opposition leaders have also demanded a full investigation but accused Netanyahu and his allies of exploiting the controversy for political gain.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he trusted the Shin Bet chief and the elections committee chairman to establish the facts, while criticising what he described as attempts to undermine public confidence in the democratic process.
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot similarly called for the allegations to be investigated, warning against political manipulation and attempts to delay the formalisation of the results.
Meanwhile, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman demanded that Arab party leaders suspected of involvement be investigated. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, calling for the arrest of Arab party leaders and other suspects where there was a legal basis.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also called for an immediate investigation, while Transportation Minister Miri Regev described the alleged interference as an attempt to undermine Israel’s political order.
Democrats party chairman Yair Golan, however, accused Netanyahu’s Likud party of using state institutions to challenge the election outcome and target Arab voters.
The competing accusations have intensified political tensions following the election, with officials and party leaders calling for investigations while offering sharply different accounts of the allegations and their political implications.
