A senior Israeli police official has ordered investigators not to share information or assist the Shin Bet domestic security agency in an investigation into alleged foreign interference in the parliamentary election without his explicit approval, exposing tensions between the country's law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Deputy Commissioner Boaz Balat, head of the Israel Police Investigations and Intelligence Division, issued the directive to officers handling the case, effectively requiring them to obtain his authorization before cooperating with Shin Bet investigators.
Israel Police Deputy Commissioner Boaz Balat
(Photo: Israel Police)
The order comes as the police are expected to serve as the Shin Bet's operational arm in certain investigative activities connected to the allegations.
"If the Shin Bet approaches you with any request for assistance related to the elections — such as help obtaining security camera footage, conducting interrogations or any other action — the request must be referred to me, and you must not comply until the division grants approval," Balat wrote.
He reiterated that the instruction applied without exception. "Again, any request whatsoever concerning the elections must be referred to me," he said.
The investigation centers on suspicions that foreign actors, including Qatar, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority, transferred substantial sums of money to figures associated with the Joint List, an alliance of predominantly Arab political parties, in an attempt to influence the 2026 Knesset election.
The allegations have not been established in court, and the extent of the suspected foreign involvement remains unclear.
On Thursday, after several days in which the Shin Bet declined to share intelligence it had gathered, the security agency began transferring materials to police in stages. The information reportedly concerns suspected irregularities at polling stations in Arab communities.
The Shin Bet's handling of the case has also drawn criticism, particularly over the approach taken by its director, David Zini.
Zini sought to classify the entire affair, including those suspected of involvement, as a matter of national security offenses. Such a designation would allow the Shin Bet to summon senior Arab political figures for questioning without first presenting evidence directly implicating them.
Among those potentially subject to questioning are Ahmad Tibi, chairman of the Arab Movement for Change, known by its Hebrew acronym Ta'al; Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Islamist Ra'am party; and Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Arab nationalist Balad party, who was disqualified from running in the election.
Another prominent figure whose name has surfaced in connection with the allegations is Ayman Odeh, a veteran Arab Israeli lawmaker who is expected to leave office when the newly elected 26th Knesset is sworn in Tuesday, Nov. 10.
According to a report by Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS, authorities are examining whether Odeh received hundreds of thousands of shekels from the Palestinian Authority.
The report also claimed there was broad agreement among officials that sufficient evidence had been gathered to summon him for questioning.
Police, however, have rejected suggestions that such a step is imminent.
Officials clarified that there are currently no plans to question Odeh, who is abroad, because investigators have not received intelligence material linking him to the alleged election interference.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is also not known to have authorized an investigation into Odeh.