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A former employee of outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office provided intelligence information against activists of the Arab party Ra'am (United Arab List), which led to their arrests in southern Israel ahead of election day, according to an investigative report by Israel's Channel 12 News.
The arrest happened after the information was entered into police computer systems. Reacting to the revelations, Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot called for an immediate investigation into the reported involvement of the Prime Minister's Office and security agencies. Ra'am, also known as the United Arab List, is an Islamist political party in Israel whose activists were at the centre of the arrests in southern Israel. According to the Channel 12 investigation, the information provided against three party activists later turned out to be untrue. The report detailed how Ido Norden, chief of staff in Netanyahu's office, contacted the office of the Police Commissioner on the eve of the elections. He complained about Ra'am activists in southern Israel. During the conversation, Norden reportedly directed police officials towards an intelligence source who could provide relevant information. The source was identified as a former employee of the Prime Minister's Office who had been close to its former Director General, Yossi Shelly. According to Channel 12, a police intelligence coordinator contacted the source on the same evening, following which the former employee provided alleged incriminating information against three Ra'am activists. The report further said that the incident is being examined by the office of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and the police investigations division amid suspicions that information was deliberately planted in advance to strengthen the complaint against the activists. Channel 12 also reported that Shin Bet chief David Zini had sought the arrest of Arab Members of the Knesset and requested surveillance of five Arab lawmakers on election day over suspicions of foreign interference in the elections. The request to wiretap the lawmakers was reportedly stopped at the last minute. Reacting to the revelations, Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, said the reported conduct of Netanyahu and his close associates posed a direct threat to Israeli democracy and called for an immediate investigation. In a post on X, Eisenkot said, "The conduct of outgoing Prime Minister Netanyahu and his inner circle poses a tangible, direct and immediate threat to Israeli democracy." Referring to the latest revelations, he said, "After bringing Qatari agents into the Prime Ministers Office in the 'Qatargate' affair, a new and even more serious affair is now coming to lightan alleged attempt to rig an election by planting evidence and deploying the police against Arab citizens of Israel without a valid search warrant or arrest warrant." Gadi was referring to Netanyahu's allegations of Qatari interference in the recently held elections and his remarks about foreign influence in favour of Arab parties. Netanyahu earlier described the controversy as an "earthquake", alleging that foreign entities interfered in the elections in favour of Arab parties and calling on Zionist parties to reject cooperation with Ra'am and the Joint List. Qatar, however, has rejected the allegations of interference in Israel's electoral process. Eisenkot also called on the police and the Shin Bet to immediately clarify the details published in the report. "I call for an immediate investigation into the affair and for the police and the Shin Bet to immediately clarify the details that have been published," he said. He further announced that he would work towards establishing a commission of inquiry to examine the reported involvement of the Prime Minister's Office and the conduct of security agencies before and during the elections. "I will work to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the involvement and interference of the Prime Ministers Office on election day and the conduct of the security agencies in the run-up to and during the elections," Eisenkot added. Meanwhile, Yair Golan, leader of the Israeli Democrats, also reacted to the Channel 12 report, saying the revelations pointed to the suspected use of intelligence and law enforcement agencies for political purposes. In a post on X, Golan said, "Channel 12 News expos tonight proves that Netanyahus office has crossed yet another red line: suspected planting of intelligence against citizens in police systems on the eve of the elections, to harness the security and law enforcement authorities for a political campaign and to steal the election." Calling for an independent investigation, Golan said, "The Shin Bet and the police are not Netanyahus operational arm. This affair demands an independent and immediate investigation, down to the last person involved." Israel's Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also reacted to the report, taking a swipe at Netanyahu and the Likud party. "So there was indeed an attempt to steal the elections. It was orchestrated by Likud from Netanyahus office," Lapid said in a post on X. The report has brought renewed attention to the circumstances surrounding the arrests of the three Ra'am activists and the reported role of officials from the Prime Minister's Office, police and security agencies in the episode. (ANI)
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