People close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are suspected of involvement in a move that led to the arrest of Ra'am activists on election day.
An investigation broadcast Sunday evening on Channel 12 reveals new details about the conduct of the police and the Shin Bet regarding suspected election interference.
According to the investigation, intelligence supplied by a former employee of the Prime Minister's Office was entered into police systems on the eve of the election and later served as the basis for arrests that drew widespread political attention.
The report centers on a sequence of events that began on Monday, the eve of the election, when Ido Norden, Netanyahu's chief of staff, called the police commissioner's office and raised a complaint concerning Ra'am activists in southern Israel.
According to the investigation, during the call Norden referred police to an intelligence source who allegedly had relevant information. That same evening, a police intelligence officer contacted the source, who was described as a former employee of the Prime Minister's Office and an associate of Yossi Shelley, the office's former director general.
The individual provided allegedly incriminating information about three Ra'am activists. The information was entered into police intelligence systems that evening, and the arrest operation was carried out the following day, election day.
The report also said the information provided later proved to be unfounded. Authorities are now examining suspicions that it was deliberately entered into police systems to bolster the complaint from the Prime Minister's Office and enable the arrests at a politically sensitive time.
As part of the operation, 14 police officers raided the homes of three Ra'am activists in southern Israel and arrested them. According to the investigation, the raids were conducted without search warrants, and the officers also had no arrest warrants at the time of the arrests.
Following the arrests, police publicized suspicions involving money and Ra'am ballot slips allegedly intended to incentivize voters. According to the investigation, the suspicions presented at the time later proved to have been exaggerated.
The findings have prompted a preliminary examination by the office of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and the police Investigations Division. The examination is in its early stages, and no conclusion has yet been reached regarding the suspected planting of information or its connection to a planned political move.
The report also said that at a meeting Zini held with Gadi Eisenkot two days after the election, the Shin Bet chief presented a binder containing intelligence material and claimed that the agency had known for years about suspected election manipulation in Arab communities. Zini told Eisenkot, "There are intelligence reports here dating back to 2018 that the Arabs are stealing elections in Israel. All the Shin Bet chiefs ignored this. I came along and turned over this stone".
Responding to the report, the Shin Bet said, "Under its legally mandated mission and duties, and in accordance with the directive of Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Sohlberg, the Shin Bet investigated serious suspicions of subversive activity and foreign influence in connection with the elections. As part of this, the agency is carrying out various activities in accordance with its legal powers. Reports about the targets of the investigation or the tools used in it do not originate from the Shin Bet and should be treated accordingly".