Joint List denounces Shin Bet probe of Arab politicians; Eisenkot: Likud leading ‘pogrom against democracy’

The Arab-led Joint List Knesset alliance accuses Shin Bet chief David Zini of acting as a “political arm” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following reports that the security agency is seeking to question four Arab politicians over alleged election interference, including senior members of the party.

“Netanyahu is clinging to power and trying to delegitimize the Arab public, which turned out in droves to vote against his government,” the party says. “Zini, who was appointed by Netanyahu, is acting as a political arm in his service.”

“We will not allow Netanyahu and Zini to turn the votes of hundreds of thousands of Arab citizens into a security threat and their elected representatives into suspects,” it adds, describing the reported investigations as part of a broader campaign to delegitimize Arab voters and their political representatives.

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot similarly warns that members of Israel’s security establishment and law enforcement agencies are “servants of the state, not the king,” accusing Likud and Netanyahu of attempting to drag the country into a “dangerous constitutional crisis.”

“In their desperation, Likud and Netanyahu are attempting to carry out a pogrom against democracy and the rule of law,” Eisenkot alleges. “At this difficult time, both politically and in terms of security, they are trying to undermine public trust in the election results.”

Democrats chairman Yair Golan also accuses Zini of turning the Shin Bet into “a political tool serving Netanyahu’s campaign to undermine the election results,” calling the reports a “grave warning sign” and urging opposition leaders to move quickly to form a government.

Golan says the next government must review Netanyahu’s appointments, including Zini’s, to ensure that security agencies serve the state rather than political interests.

The statements follow an i24News report that Zini is seeking to interrogate Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas, Ta’al faction leader Ahmad Tibi, Balad faction chief Sami Abu Shehadeh and an unnamed senior Joint List lawmaker, but has provided prosecutors with evidence against only the latter.

In response to the report’s publication, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said investigators cannot question elected officials without supporting evidence, accusing the Shin Bet of withholding investigative materials from a joint team established with police two days ago.

Likud responds by accusing Baharav-Miara of “tying the Shin Bet’s hands” and covering up alleged foreign interference in the election.

The party also accuses Eisenkot, Golan and other opposition leaders of “inciting and stirring up rebellion against the heads of Israel’s security establishment” with the attorney general’s backing.

Likud has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” by the Arab parties and sought to delay certification of the results.