PMO Reportedly Linked to Planted Intelligence Against Ra’am Activists
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- Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot called for an immediate investigation into the reported election-interference allegations and explanations from the police and Shin Bet. He said he would work to establish a commission examining the Prime Minister’s Office’s involvement and the security bodies’ conduct before and during election day.
- Eisenkot said Netanyahu and his circle posed a direct threat to Israeli democracy and argued that Netanyahu must not lead the country into another election. He said preventing Netanyahu’s continued tenure was his central consideration in the coalition negotiations he is conducting.
- The Prime Minister’s Office denied directing the police investigation. It said chief of staff Ido Norden received information about suspected criminal activity and connected its source with police. It denied any further involvement by Norden, including contact with police intelligence personnel or others involved in the investigation, and called the contrary allegations false and defamatory.
Original report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was reportedly linked to the planting of intelligence against Ra’am activists before the election, according to an investigative disclosure published on November 15. The Attorney General’s Office and the police Investigations Department are reportedly conducting a preliminary examination of whether information was deliberately planted to support the complaint. According to the report, Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Ido Norden, called the police commissioner’s office on the Monday before the election and directed police to a purported intelligence source. That person had recently worked in the Prime Minister’s Office and was close to former office director-general Yossi Shelley. A police intelligence officer reportedly contacted the source that evening, and information concerning three Ra’am activists in southern Israel was entered into police systems. The report alleged that the information subsequently supported election-day arrests and election-fraud claims. The disclosure also alleged that Shin Bet chief David Zini sought election-day surveillance of five Arab lawmakers and that the Attorney General’s Office rejected the request. In its response, the Shin Bet said it had examined serious suspicions of subversion and foreign influence concerning the election under its statutory remit and instructions from Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg. It said it acts within its lawful authority. The agency stated: “The reports about the investigation’s targets or tools did not come from the Shin Bet.” Politician Vladimir Beliak called on the attorney general to order an immediate criminal investigation of Netanyahu, senior officials in his office, the police commissioner and the Shin Bet chief. He also called for a national emergency government.
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