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Shin Bet examines suspected Qatari election funding, Kan reports

The report distinguishes a focused funding inquiry from broader claims of a stolen election, while Qatar denies interference.

Channel: Kan News Hebrew channel ·

IsraelStory of October 30, 2026Trari Newsroom

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קטר התערבה בבחירות? שב"כ בודק חשד למימון זר לעידוד הצבעה בחברה הערבית

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:02Sohlberg asks the Shin Bet to investigate suspected foreign funding and election bribery.
0:13Herzog urges a thorough investigation without stigmatizing an entire community.
1:04The reporter cites sources describing limited suspected activity, not expected to trigger a repeat election.
1:16Election official Dean Livne says Likud's allegations lack evidence and rejects claims of a stolen election.
2:09Rahat residents describe voting legally to influence their future; Qatar's denial follows at 02:48.
3:20Sohlberg gives the Shin Bet about a week to complete the investigation before further decisions.

A suspected foreign-funded effort to encourage voting in Israel's Arab communities is under examination, but election officials are rejecting broader assertions that the election was stolen, according to Israel's Kan News, the news division of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

Hadas Greenberg's October 29 report says Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg asked Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate suspicions of foreign funding and election bribery. The suspected money, the report says, came from Qatar and was intended to encourage voting for Arab electoral lists. Qatar's Foreign Ministry firmly denies any interference.

The report draws an important distinction between investigating particular suspected offenses and casting suspicion on Arab citizens who voted. President Isaac Herzog calls for the evidence and suspicions to be investigated thoroughly, while urging officials not to stigmatize an entire community. The Shin Bet likewise says its inquiry is focused and does not impugn people who voted democratically and legally.

Greenberg cites sources saying the suspected activity is limited in scale and is not expected to lead to a repeat election. In a recorded interview, acting Central Elections Committee director-general Dean Livne says Likud submitted a long list of allegations without evidence. He says officials see no basis for claims of a stolen election, while checks continue.

In Rahat, a Bedouin city in southern Israel, residents interviewed reject the allegations and describe voting legally because they wanted a say in the country's future. Mayor Talal al-Krenawi characterizes the accusations as a preplanned political response to an electoral defeat.

The report closes with a deadline: Sohlberg has given the Shin Bet about a week to complete its investigation, after which the next steps will be decided.

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