Beersheba judge frees final suspect in Ra'am vote-buying probe

A Beersheba court has released the final suspect in a southern Israel vote-buying case.

Judge Eran Tzabari ordered the unconditional release of Ibrahim al-Garibi on Wednesday. Garibi was the last of three Bedouin men detained after police arrested them at dawn on election day. The men faced accusations of plotting to buy votes for the traditionalist Arab party Ra'am.

Police had requested that Garibi be placed under house arrest and barred from using the internet. Tzabari rejected that motion and criticized the investigating unit for its slow pace. "The investigating unit has made no progress in the case, nor have I heard of any actual efforts to check the defendant's own claim," the judge stated in his decision. He added that he saw no reason to keep the defendant under house arrest.

The investigation centered on alleged bribery. Police said they found envelopes of cash and Ra'am ballots during home searches. The suspects denied the bribery claims, stating the money was intended for charitable purposes. Police later admitted that they searched the homes of all three men without warrants. Abu Reash's lawyer disputed police claims that large sums were found in his client's home, noting that a total of NIS 12,000 was found in the other two locations.

Garibi's release follows the freedom of the other two accused. Saef Abu Reash was freed unconditionally on Sunday after a judge faulted police for failing to present new evidence for an extension. Hussein al-Masoudin was released Tuesday at the end of a two-day remand. Police did not appeal either release decision.

Hebrew media reports indicate that the arrests followed a tip from Ido Norden, chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a video statement on election day, Netanyahu described the allegations against the "three senior Ra'am moneymen" as an attempt to steal the election. He cited this case, along with a separate foreign influence probe, to argue that the October 27 election was compromised.

The Ra'am case is distinct from the foreign interference investigation, though both have faced scrutiny. On Wednesday, the Shin Bet told the Central Elections Committee that intelligence suggested foreign funding involved thousands of people. The agency stated that further investigation was needed to establish the scale of the activity. The committee certified the election results on Wednesday after reviewing protocols from 9,069 polling stations and finding no irregularities that compromised the vote's integrity.