Attorney General tells Shin Bet to show evidence before Arab MKs are questioned

Israel's Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, issued a public statement on Tuesday evening rejecting pressure to question politicians without evidence, and accusing the Shin Bet security service of holding up an investigation by failing to pass on material it had gathered. The statement, published in full by journalist Amit Segal, opens by describing itself as highly exceptional and says it was prompted by erroneous reports.

In it, the Attorney General says that in a state governed by law, neither citizens nor elected officials can be investigated unless there is evidence to justify it. If the Shin Bet or any other body holds such evidence, she wrote, it is "welcome to present it." She added that anyone who needs to be questioned will be, but that nobody will be questioned without an evidentiary basis. The statement also says that for two days the Shin Bet has not handed its collected investigative material to a special team set up on the recommendation of Judge Solberg, which works with the police and is accompanied by the State Attorney's Office, and that this has in practice delayed the case.

What triggered the statement

The Times of Israel reported that the dispute concerns an investigation into an alleged vote-buying scheme. According to that report, the Israeli outlet i24News said earlier in the evening that Shin Bet chief David Zini wants to question four Arab politicians in the case but has not given prosecutors evidence concerning three of them. Those three were named as Mansour Abbas, head of the Ra'am party; Ahmad Tibi, who leads the Ta'al faction; and Sami Abu Shehadeh, who heads the Balad faction. The fourth was described as a senior member of the Knesset from the Joint List whose name is under a publication ban.

The Times of Israel said the i24News report led the ruling Likud party to accuse the Attorney General of obstructing the probe. Ynet quoted Likud as saying that she is tying the Shin Bet's hands.

The institutions involved

The Shin Bet, formally the Israel Security Agency, is the country's domestic security and counterintelligence service. It is not a police force, which is why its material would need to reach the police and prosecutors for a criminal case to move forward. The Attorney General serves as the government's chief legal adviser and oversees the legal framework within which the prosecution operates. A member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, is commonly referred to as an MK.

Ra'am, Ta'al and Balad are parties drawing support mainly from Arab citizens of Israel. The Joint List is an alliance of Arab-led factions. The politicians named in the reports are among the most prominent Arab figures in Israeli politics.

Reactions from politicians

Ynet gathered a range of responses. Mansour Abbas said he would present himself for questioning. Opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot addressed Zini directly, warning against anyone who corrupts his authority and office for political considerations. Yair Lapid described the Shin Bet chief as a plant, while the Joint List said he had gone off the rails, according to Ynet. Ynet's alert service summarised the Attorney General's position as two points: no investigation without evidence, and the Shin Bet withholding investigative material.

Election results

The row unfolded alongside the publication of election results. News.co.il reported that Judge Solberg made clear the results would be published the following day, saying that under Basic Law: The Knesset they must be published and that nobody has any authority not to publish them. Basic Laws are the set of laws that function as Israel's constitutional framework in the absence of a single written constitution. Ynet similarly reported that official results would be released as planned, and said Likud would abstain in a vote, without the headline summary specifying which vote.

What the reports do not say

• No response from the Shin Bet or from David Zini to the Attorney General's claim that material is being withheld has been reported.
• The reports do not describe what evidence, if any, the Shin Bet holds regarding the four politicians, or what the alleged vote-buying scheme involved.
• The account of Zini's request comes from i24News as relayed by The Times of Israel; the Attorney General's statement does not name the politicians.
• The vote in which Likud plans to abstain is not identified in the material available.