Likud and Religious Zionism accuse attorney general of blocking Shin Bet election probe

Likud and the Religious Zionism party publicly attacked Israel's attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, on Tuesday evening, accusing her of obstructing an investigation by the Shin Bet, the Israel Security Agency, into alleged foreign interference in Israel's election. News.co.il reported that Likud accused her of blocking investigative steps in what the party calls the "election contamination" affair, and called on Justice Solberg and the Central Elections Committee to examine the claims and give the public answers.

The attacks followed reports that evening, which the parties did not identify by outlet, on a dispute between the attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet over how far the inquiry should go. According to a summary posted by political commentator Amit Segal and relayed by N12, the attorney general had warned that party leaders should not be investigated without sufficient evidence. Likud's response, quoted in a Ynet alert, was that Solberg wants to investigate while she "ties the Shin Bet's hands".

What the two parties allege

In a statement published by Amit Segal, Likud described the evening's reports as an earthquake for Israeli democracy. The party said that, according to those reports, the attorney general was preventing necessary investigations of Arab members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament: Ahmad Tibi, Mansour Abbas, Sami Abu Shehadeh and one other lawmaker it did not name. Likud also said a separate report claimed she was stopping the Shin Bet from using investigative tools available for security offences, and had wanted to keep from the public that a security offence was involved. The party called this selective enforcement.

In a later statement, also carried by Segal, Likud said the attorney general was refusing to allow the investigation despite the support of Solberg, the committee chair, for a thorough inquiry. It described this as a fixed pattern and cited two earlier affairs: her handling of the case of the military advocate general and the so-called spyware affair. The statement also accused opposition figures Gadi Eisenkot's camp leader Eisenkot, Yair Golan and other leaders of the left-wing bloc of inciting against the heads of Israel's security establishment.

Religious Zionism, a party on the religious right, framed its statement conditionally. According to News.co.il, it said that if the attorney general was indeed frustrating a Shin Bet investigation, this would strike at the core of democracy, and it called for her to be removed from any involvement until the claims are clarified. In the version posted by Segal, the party said Solberg must order her removal from the matter and that alleged links between terrorist organisations, an enemy entity and Arab Knesset members must be fully investigated using the Shin Bet's tools.

The attorney general's reported position

No statement from the attorney general's office appears in the material. Her position is known only as described by others. Segal, setting out both sides in a separate post, wrote that in her view the head of the Shin Bet wants to summon, without grounds, the leaders of parties opposed to the prime minister who appointed him. In the Shin Bet chief's view, Segal wrote, the attorney general, appointed by what is now the opposition, is preventing an inquiry into foreign influence on the election in a way that helps those who appointed her. Segal called the situation intolerable and said every possible answer was troubling.

Who the people and bodies are

Israel's attorney general heads the government's legal system, advises the cabinet and has final authority over criminal prosecutions, including decisions on investigating elected officials. Baharav-Miara has been in repeated conflict with the current government, which has sought to remove her. The Shin Bet is the domestic security service, responsible for counter-terrorism and counter-espionage, and it holds investigative powers broader than those of the police in security cases.

The Central Elections Committee oversees the running of Knesset elections and is chaired by a justice of the Supreme Court; the reports refer to the current chair as Justice Solberg. Ahmad Tibi, Mansour Abbas and Sami Abu Shehadeh lead or have led Arab parties in the Knesset. Likud is the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Religious Zionism is one of its coalition partners.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not identify the original publications that prompted the statements, nor describe what evidence, if any, links the named lawmakers to foreign interference. There is no response in the material from the attorney general's office, the Shin Bet, the Central Elections Committee or the lawmakers named by Likud. Whether Solberg has taken any step in response to the parties' demands is not reported.