Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg ordered the Shin Bet, assisted by Mossad, to investigate allegations of foreign funding and interference in Israel's October 27, 2026 general election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Arab parties of stealing the vote with funding from Qatar and Turkey. The claims emerged after Arab-Israeli parties secured a record 19 Knesset seats, making them potential kingmakers in a deadlocked parliament where neither Netanyahu's 53-seat right-wing bloc nor Gadi Eisenkot's anti-Netanyahu camp holds a majority.
Investigation into foreign election interference claims
- ▪Justice Noam Sohlberg gave Shin Bet Director David Zini one week to submit the findings of his investigation into foreign interference in Israel's October 27 election
- ▪Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg requested Shin Bet Director David Zini to conduct an immediate inquiry into foreign interference and funding allegations regarding the Israeli general election
- ▪The Mossad foreign intelligence agency agreed to assist the Shin Bet in investigating suspected foreign interference in the Israeli general election
Likud allegations of election fraud
- ▪On polling day, Benjamin Netanyahu posted photos claiming to show large crowds in Arab-majority communities, at least one of which BBC analysis identified as AI-generated
- ▪Prior to Justice Sohlberg's request to the Shin Bet to investigate foreign interference allegations, Israeli police sources cited by media outlets stated that Likud's vote fraud allegations were baseless
- ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party alleged that Arab-Israeli politicians stole Israel's October 27 election through foreign funding from Qatar and Turkey, cash-stuffed envelopes, and double voting
Political reactions to fraud allegations
- ▪Joint List official Sami Abu Shehadeh characterized Likud's fraud allegations as a racist libel designed to reject the democratic election results using security forces
- ▪Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot stated that Israel must guard election purity against interference while accusing political actors of attempting to exploit the deadlocked election situation to delay parliament's inauguration
Election results and seat distribution
- ▪Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party secured six seats in the Knesset in the October 27, 2026 election
- ▪Lead challenger Gadi Eisenkot's centrist bloc secured 48 Knesset seats in the October 27, 2026 election
- ▪With no bloc securing a 61-seat majority in Israel's 120-member Knesset, Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc holds 53 seats while anti-Netanyahu opposition parties hold 67 seats, including 19 Arab-Israeli seats
- ▪Two Arab-Israeli parties, the Joint List (12 seats) and United Arab List (Ra'am, seven seats), secured a combined 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset following the October 27, 2026 Israeli election
Voter turnout figures
- ▪The 77.7 percent voter turnout recorded in the October 27, 2026 Israeli general election was the highest overall turnout since 1999
- ▪Voter turnout in the October 27, 2026 Israeli election reached 77.7 percent overall, with voter turnout in the Arab-dominated town of Nazareth exceeding 80 percent
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