JERUSALEM — Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, head of Israel's Central Elections Committee, said on Sunday that an ongoing investigation into alleged foreign funding of the Arab Israeli party Raam would not call into question the election results, affirming that voters' choices would be respected.
Sohlberg's statement came as the Shin Bet security agency continues an inquiry launched last week at his request to determine whether Raam received money from Qatar. Both the Gulf state and the party have denied the accusations.
"Your choice at the ballot box will be respected," Sohlberg said in a video message, adding that even if the suspicions are ultimately confirmed, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the overall results of the elections.
The investigation stems from a vote on October 27, 2026, that did not deliver an outright parliamentary majority to any bloc. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have repeatedly accused Arab groupings of having "stolen" the vote, in which they notched unprecedented gains and made themselves potentially instrumental to the formation of an opposition-led government.
The results saw Netanyahu and allies win 53 seats and Netanyahu's main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, secure 48 — both well short of the 61 needed to form a government. The Arab groupings Raam and the Joint List won a combined 19 seats.
An Israeli court on Sunday released a suspect arrested on election day over a separate case of suspected vote-buying for Raam, while extending the police custody of another and placing a third under house arrest. Qatar called the accusations "ridiculous and dangerous."
Raam chief Mansour Abbas has denied the allegations, welcomed an investigation and said his party has "no connection whatsoever to the affair." Sohlberg insisted that "these remarks must in no way cast doubt on the vote of the Arab community," adding that citizens who went to the polls "exercised their democratic right."
