Attorney General Rebukes Shin Bet Chief Over Arab Politician Probes

A public dispute erupted Tuesday between Israel’s attorney general and the head of the domestic security service over a proposed investigation into four Arab politicians. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara issued a statement accusing Shin Bet chief David Zini of subverting democratic norms by seeking to question elected officials without first presenting the evidence required to justify such moves.

The conflict centers on an alleged case of foreign election interference. According to a report from i24News, Zini wants to interrogate Mansour Abbas, head of the Ra’am party; Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Ta’al faction; and Sami Abu Shehadeh, chief of the Balad faction. Abu Shehadeh was disqualified from running in the election held last week. A fourth individual, a senior Joint List member of Knesset whose name is sealed, is also targeted. The report states that there is a full agreement on compelling evidence against this unnamed lawmaker, but not against the other three.

Baharav-Miara requested the evidence before deciding whether to approve the interrogations. The Shin Bet has not yet provided the material for the three named politicians, nor has it shared the documents with the police. The two agencies decided to form a joint investigative team just two days ago. The attorney general’s office stated that the Shin Bet’s failure to hand over the evidence for two days is hindering the probe.

In her statement, Baharav-Miara emphasized that in a country governed by the rule of law, citizens and elected officials cannot be interrogated without a justification. "If the Shin Bet or any other party has evidence that justifies an investigation, it is welcome to present it," the statement read. "Anyone who needs to be interrogated will be interrogated, but people without an evidentiary basis will not be interrogated."

Political reactions were swift and partisan. The Joint List accused Zini of acting as a political arm for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The party argued that Netanyahu is trying to delegitimize the Arab public, which voted in large numbers against his government. "We will not allow Netanyahu and Zini to turn the votes of hundreds of thousands of Arab citizens into a security threat," the Joint List said.

Abbas responded by saying he and all Ra’am members are willing to answer any lawful summons. He urged authorities to honor the voters’ decision and denounced what he called an attempt to tarnish the Arab public. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s Likud party accused Baharav-Miara of preventing the interrogations and working to cover up the investigation into the alleged contamination of the elections.

Likud called for Justice Noam Sohlberg and the Central Elections Committee to clarify the truth. The party has been attempting to delay the publication of final election results due to the ongoing probes. The election results showed Netanyahu’s coalition losing its majority. Officials have confirmed the results are valid despite the alleged vote-buying scheme against Ra’am and the separate probe into foreign interference, reportedly involving Qatar.

On Sunday, Sohlberg, the chair of the Central Elections Committee, appeared in a video message alongside Zini, acting director general Dean Livne, and Baharav-Miara. The four presented a united front against claims of widespread fraud, with Sohlberg reiterating that the election was conducted properly.

Other opposition figures joined the criticism of the security chief. Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot posted on X that the authorities must serve the country, not the king, referring to Netanyahu. He warned that Likud is trying to drag the country into a constitutional crisis. Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, urged opposition leaders to move quickly to form a government. He stated that the next administration must review Netanyahu’s appointments, including Zini’s, to ensure security agencies serve the state.