Lieberman to Probe Alleged Foreign Election Interference as Committee Head

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu and the incoming chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, announced during the party's faction meeting that his first official action will be to summon the heads of the Shin Bet and the Israel Police. Lieberman emphasized the need to clarify what he described as an unreasonable discrepancy between the two agencies regarding alleged foreign interference in the recent elections.

The controversy surrounds suspicions that foreign entities, including Qatar, Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority, funneled substantial funds to members of the Joint List to influence the electoral outcome. For days, the Shin Bet withheld evidence from the police amid allegations of election tampering. However, the security agency began transferring relevant materials regarding ballot boxes in the Arab sector to a specialized joint investigative team following a directive from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

Shin Bet officials explained that the phased transfer is time-consuming due to necessary administrative procedures and preparatory meetings. Meanwhile, police sources clarified that there are currently no immediate plans or timelines to interrogate sitting members of parliament or party officials, including MK Ayman Odeh, despite earlier reports suggesting sufficient evidence had accumulated to prompt his questioning.