Israel Frees Bribery Suspects as Court Backs Election Validity

Israeli police released two of three suspects in an alleged voter bribery case on Sunday, a move that weakens the legal footing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to challenge last week's parliamentary results. The decision follows days of arrests and legal maneuvering as the ruling Likud party seeks to block a potential opposition alliance that could remove Netanyahu from power.

The suspects were linked to the Islamist party Ra'am, which won eight seats in the Knesset. Police originally arrested three activists before polls opened on October 27 with envelopes of cash. Two days later, four additional suspects were detained. On Sunday, a judge questioned or rejected police requests for further restrictions. One suspect was released with unspecified conditions, another was placed on house arrest for eight days, and the detention of the third was extended by two days.

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who heads the elections committee, stated that even if separate claims of foreign interference are proven, they would not undermine the election results. Sohlberg made this declaration in a video released Sunday alongside the Shin Bet chief and the attorney general. He said, “our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole.”

Likud has argued without presenting specific evidence that Arab-led parties stole the election. The party’s leadership has cast doubt on the vote to prevent Netanyahu from being forced out of office by a coalition with Arab parties. Netanyahu suggested it would be treasonous for his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, to join forces with Arab-led parties. Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of launching an orchestrated campaign to delegitimize the results by insinuating that Qatar supported the opposition.

Netanyahu’s bloc dropped to 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, down from 68 in the previous parliament. The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot won 48 seats, while Arab-led parties captured the remaining 19 seats. Together, these two opposing blocs hold enough seats to form a government. President Isaac Herzog will begin meeting with parties this Wednesday to determine who will attempt to form the next cabinet.

Mansour Abbas, leader of Ra'am, denounced the arrests as undemocratic and an attempt to influence the outcome. Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List of Arab parties, which won 11 seats, said Netanyahu reverts to racist incitement in times of crisis. Jabareen noted that more than half of Likud's election day messaging targeted Arab voters. Qatar has denied funding any activities to influence the vote, though the country is often viewed in Israel as a patron of Hamas.

The Shin Bet security service opened an investigation into foreign interference at the request of the election commission. Likud issued a statement questioning how the committee chief could acknowledge serious allegations while asserting no effect on the final outcome. The results are due for official certification this week, setting the stage for weeks of coalition negotiations or a new election early next year.