Shin Bet chief wants to question three Arab party leaders and a senior MK over suspected foreign election money

Shin Bet director David Zini has asked to question Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas, Ta'al leader Ahmad Tibi and Balad's Sami Abu Shehadeh under caution, along with a fourth senior Knesset member who hasn't been named, over suspected foreign funding of election campaigns, i24NEWS reports. Ynet and Israel National News carried the report, which links the suspected money to Qatar.

The attorney general's office wants to see the evidence first. According to the report, only the unnamed MK's file has been reviewed so far, and a joint Shin Bet and police team hasn't started work because the Shin Bet hasn't handed over its material. Zini wanted the case classified as a security offense. The attorney general's office called that illegal, and the agreed wording now says the affair "may have a security aspect." The report also says Zini couldn't come up with Abbas's name during the meeting.

The Shin Bet, the police and the attorney general's office declined to comment. Abu Shehadeh resigned from the Knesset on Oct. 1. None of the four has been charged or questioned.