Israel certifies election results despite security agency warning of widespread foreign interference

Coalition MKs protest as election results certified and sent to the president despite the warnings of the Shin Bet security agency of a massive foreign interference operation involving thousands of people.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Central Elections Committee approved the final results of last week’s Knesset election on Wednesday, despite objections from members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s outgoing coalition and warnings from the Shin Bet security agency concerning suspected foreign interference involving potentially thousands of people.

The committee’s decision followed an extensive review of more than 9,000 polling stations, which election officials said uncovered no evidence of widespread irregularities or manipulation affecting the election results.

However, the Shin Bet maintained that intelligence collected during its ongoing investigation pointed to potentially extensive efforts by foreign actors to funnel money into Israel to exert political influence.

According to information presented to the committee by Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the election panel, the security agency suspects that substantial sums were transferred from foreign countries by individuals or organizations pursuing concealed or potentially hostile interests.

The agency said its preliminary intelligence suggested that the suspected activities could involve thousands of people or more.

“The intelligence presented by the service’s professionals ostensibly points to widespread transfers of large sums of money into Israel from foreign countries,” the Shin Bet said at Wednesday’s Central Election Committee hearing.

The agency said the transfers appeared to originate from actors with “concealed and even hostile interests” seeking to promote foreign influence.

However, the Shin Bet emphasized that its findings remained preliminary and that further intelligence gathering and investigative work were necessary to establish the full extent of the suspected activities.

The agency did not identify the foreign countries allegedly involved, establish which political parties may have benefited.

Sohlberg acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations while emphasizing that they remained under investigation.

“Suspicions have been raised. They need to be examined, and as you know, they are being examined,” he told the committee.

The allegations have prompted demands from members of Netanyahu’s coalition to delay certification until investigators determine whether foreign actors influenced the October 27 vote.

On Tuesday, 16 representatives of coalition parties on the Central Elections Committee requested access to information concerning the Shin Bet investigation before the results were formally approved.

Sohlberg rejected the request, maintaining that the committee lacked legal authority to postpone publication of the results because of an ongoing criminal or security investigation.

The dispute intensified Wednesday morning when Likud MK Amit Halevi resigned from the committee in protest.

Halevi accused foreign countries of interfering with the election and alleged that some lawmakers may have secured their seats with illicit financial assistance.

He specifically named Qatar, Iran and Turkey as countries he believed could have influenced the election, although he did not provide evidence substantiating those allegations.

Halevi argued that the committee had a responsibility to certify only the democratic choices of Israeli voters, not the influence of foreign governments.

“I will not vote against my conscience and against the security of the state,” he declared in his resignation statement.

Otzma Yehudit, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, meanwhile announced that its representatives would vote against approving the results rather than abstaining.

“The elections were rigged, the results are fraudulent and foreign countries interfered,” the party claimed, without presenting evidence establishing that the results had been altered.

The committee’s five-member presidium approved the results Wednesday morning, with representatives of Yesh Atid and Blue and White voting in favor, while representatives of Likud and Shas abstained. Sohlberg also voted in favor.

The full Central Elections Committee subsequently ratified the results by 15 votes in favor, two against and 14 abstentions.

Addressing members before the vote, Sohlberg warned against efforts to overturn or delay the outcome through the committee’s proceedings.

“It is the voters, through their ballots, who determine the election results,” he said.

He added that even if the suspected foreign interference were eventually substantiated, challenges to the election would have to proceed through the appropriate legal channels.

The certification came hours after the committee announced that its six-day review of the election results had found no evidence of irregularities sufficient to undermine the outcome.

According to the committee, officials examined records from 9,069 polling stations, representing approximately 75% of the 12,018 regular polling stations used in the election.

That was a substantial expansion over the previous Knesset election, when approximately 5,100 polling stations underwent review.

In 350 locations, officials conducted more detailed examinations of voting materials, including ballots and voter registries where necessary.

The committee also investigated 2,452 complaints submitted by political parties and candidate lists involving 1,350 polling stations, as well as 1,239 submissions from the public.

Officials said every complaint was examined and that corrections were made where justified by the voting records.

“The scope and quality of the operation demonstrate the Elections Committee’s strong commitment to reflecting the will of the voter as accurately as possible,” Sohlberg said.

Acting committee director-general Dean Livne similarly emphasized that no complaint had been ignored.

The committee’s findings concerned the accuracy of vote counting and the integrity of the reported results, rather than the separate question of whether foreign actors attempted to influence voters or political organizations.

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