Update: Mossad Reportedly Joins Israel Election Probe as Bribery Case Against Three Activists Weakens

JERUSALEM, Israel —

Israel's Mossad spy agency has joined the Shin Bet's investigation into alleged foreign influence in the Oct. 27 Knesset election, Hebrew media reported Friday, Oct. 30, according to the Times of Israel. The reports were unsourced and said the Shin Bet asked for the help. Qatar and Turkey have both rejected claims that they tried to sway the vote.

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The same day, Haaretz reported that three Ra'am party activists arrested on suspicion of bribing voters were due to be released from house arrest because no evidence of a bribery attempt had been found, the Times of Israel said. Haaretz reported that the case is expected to close without charges. The three are not named in the report.

Haaretz cited a source saying the case began with a tip from Ido Norden, Netanyahu's chief of staff. Netanyahu later pointed to the arrests in claiming the election was “stolen.” Israel Police said the arrests were not connected to the wider foreign-interference probe.

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Likud, Netanyahu's party, said, “They stole the elections in Israel,” and urged Zionist parties not to work with Ra'am or the Joint List. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana called the allegations the most serious in Israel's democratic history. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected of involvement.

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Likud and Netanyahu of an “orchestrated and organized campaign” to delegitimize the results. Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas said his party “has no connection whatsoever to the affair in question.” President Isaac Herzog called for a thorough investigation and warned against casting suspicion on Arab voters as a group.

Dean Livne, acting director-general of the Central Elections Committee, said the probe “does not affect the final results” going to the president. The committee's chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, has given the Shin Bet a week to find evidence that would “substantiate or refute” the suspicions, a deadline that falls before election appeals are due.

What we don't know yet: The Mossad's role has not been officially confirmed in the reports published so far. The Shin Bet says its investigation is incomplete and has not said what it has found. Whether any appeal will be filed is also unknown; the Times of Israel noted that a court could in theory void all or part of an election, which would be unprecedented in Israel.