Ben-Gvir says the Shin Bet must order the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected over Qatari money
Itamar Ben-GvirIsrael's national security minister and leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, in a post on X
In a post on X, Ben-Gvir says the Shin Bet should order that morning the arrest of the heads of Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money and of other suspects in the affair, where a legal basis for arrest exists.
“The Shin Bet must order, already this morning, the arrest of the heads of the Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money, and of all the other suspects in the affair, including figures in the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots, insofar as there is a legal basis for their arrest. (Translated from Hebrew. Original: השב״כ צריך להורות עוד הבוקר על מעצרם של ראשי המפלגות הערביות החשודים במעורבות בכסף קטארי, ושל כל יתר החשודים בפרשה, לרבות גורמים באחים המוסלמים ובגרורותיהם, ככל שקיימת עילה חוקית למעצרם.)”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Netanyahu's allies accuse Arab parties over alleged Qatari election funding, and Ben-Gvir seeks arrests; Arab parties and Qatar deny it
After Israel's October 27, 2026 election, Central Elections Committee chair Noam Sohlberg asked the Shin Bet to investigate suspicions that foreign entities funded efforts to influence the vote, which members of Netanyahu's bloc tied to Qatar and the Arab party Ra'am. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected of involvement, and Likud said the election had been stolen. Ra'am's Mansour Abbas, the Joint List's Ahmad Tibi and Qatar's foreign ministry rejected the accusations.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
In a Hebrew-language post on the morning of October 29, Ben-Gvir says the Shin Bet should order the arrest of the heads of Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money, and of other suspects in the affair, where there is a legal basis to arrest them.
Reporting
About this source
ANI reports, in a story published by The Tribune of India, the calls by Smotrich and Ben-Gvir and Avigdor Liberman's response after Central Elections Committee chair Noam Sohlberg asked Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate suspicions of foreign interference. It quotes Sohlberg's letter as reported by Israeli media.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Central Elections Committee chair Noam Sohlberg had asked the Shin Bet to investigate suspicions that foreign entities funded efforts to influence the election, and Smotrich had called for the heads of the Arab parties to be questioned that day.
After the quotation
In the same post, Ben-Gvir writes that this is a political October 27 (translation). Israel's election was held on October 27.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns the allegation, raised by members of Netanyahu's bloc and referred to the Shin Bet, that Arab parties were involved in Qatari or other foreign funding meant to influence the October 27 election. Ben-Gvir calls the heads of the Arab parties suspects in the Qatari money affair and demands that the Shin Bet order their arrest that morning, which treats the alleged conduct as criminal and condemns it. The condition he attaches concerns the legal basis for an arrest, not his view of the conduct.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseQatar's foreign ministry denies interfering in Israel's election or funding efforts to influence it
Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“We categorically deny allegations that Qatar has interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome”Read statement
Tibi says the campaign aims to scare Eisenkot off relying on the Arab parties
“This entire campaign is directed against Eisenkot, to prevent him, intimidate and scare him off forming a government that relies on external support from the Joint List or Ra'am”Read statement
Abbas says nothing will come of the campaign against Arab citizens because there is nothing there
“We have one message in response to the campaign of incitement and delegitimisation he is waging against Arab citizens: Nothing will come of it because there is nothing there”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Ben-Gvir says the Shin Bet must order the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected over Qatari money
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/7224-in-a-post-on-x-ben-gvir-says
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Ben-Gvir says the Shin Bet must order the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected over Qatari money". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/7224-in-a-post-on-x-ben-gvir-says