Smotrich says the heads of the Arab parties must be questioned by the Shin Bet
Bezalel SmotrichIsrael's finance minister and leader of the Religious Zionism party, in a post on X
In a post on X, Smotrich calls the suspicion of election interference with foreign Islamist money a test for Israel, says the heads of the Arab parties must be questioned by the Shin Bet that day, and says Israel will not be sold to radical Islam with terror money.
“The heads of the Arab parties must be questioned by the Shin Bet today. (Translated from Hebrew. Original: ראשי המפלגות הערביות מוכרחים להיחקר בשב״כ עוד היום.)”
Original post
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, Smotrich calls the suspicion of election interference with foreign Islamist money a test for Israel and says the heads of the Arab parties must be questioned by the Shin Bet that day.
Before the quotation
Smotrich's post opens by saying the suspicion of election interference with foreign Islamist money is a test for the State of Israel (translation).
After the quotation
The post ends by saying the State of Israel will not be sold to radical Islam with terror money (translation).
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. Smotrich calls for the heads of the Arab parties to be questioned that day and describes the alleged funding as foreign Islamist and terror money, which condemns the alleged conduct.
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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
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The Dispute Index. "Smotrich says the heads of the Arab parties must be questioned by the Shin Bet". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/7225-in-a-post-on-x-smotrich-calls-the