Seven Arrests Reported in Probe of Alleged Vote-Buying for Ra'am
Four suspects arrested Thursday, including three school principals, were released to house arrest as investigators examine alleged cash and fuel-card payments. Circulating card images have not been authenticated as evidence of bribery.
By Reuven
Seven people have been arrested since Tuesday's Israeli election in an investigation into suspected efforts to buy votes for Ra'am, according to Israeli news reports. Four additional suspects were arrested Thursday, including three school principals from Tel Sheva and Segev Shalom in the Negev.
A later Ynet update reported that the Beersheba Magistrate's Court released all four Thursday suspects to house arrest. Police are examining whether fuel cards were offered to voters in exchange for supporting the party. The case remains an investigation, and the allegations have not been established in court.
The inquiry was transferred to the National Fraud Investigation Unit at Lahav 433. Reporting on searches described cash-filled envelopes and election materials, including Ra'am ballot slips, among items seized from the original suspects.
The suspects deny wrongdoing. One defense lawyer said envelopes bearing the Islamic Movement's name contained donations intended for needy families, rather than money for election bribery. A suspect also disputed investigators' interpretation of other cash found during a search.
An unnamed Bedouin source quoted by Ynet alleged that some residents were offered assistance of 200 to 300 shekels in return for political support, and that 100-shekel fuel vouchers were given to people transporting residents to polling stations. Those amounts are the source's allegations, not established police findings.
Photographs of prepaid fuel cards have separately circulated online, prompting questions about how the cards were obtained and used. Their origin, timing and connection to any election offense have not been independently verified. The images alone do not establish that voters were bribed or that the photographed cards are linked to this investigation.
A separate Shin Bet inquiry concerns suspected foreign interference in the election, including possible funding from Qatar and Turkey. No connection between that inquiry and the alleged vote-buying case in southern Israel has been established. Neither investigation establishes wrongdoing by Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas personally.
Likud is preparing a legal challenge to results at polling stations where it alleges bribery or other prohibited practices occurred. The reported plan is a request for legal action, not a court decision overturning results or ordering a new vote.
Illustrative archive photo - 2009. These ballot slips are not evidence from the current investigation.