Ra’am Vote-Buying Allegations: Three Arrested in Israel’s Negev

Israeli police arrested three suspects in the Negev over an alleged attempt to pay voters to support Ra’am, the party led by Mansour Abbas.

Police said searches of the suspects’ homes uncovered envelopes containing tens of thousands of shekels in cash, ballot slips and other material suspected of being connected to the investigation.

The suspects, from the Segev Shalom and Ar’ara areas, were taken for questioning. Police said they were expected to appear in court on Tuesday, October 27, for a hearing on extending their detention.

Separately, Abbas called for the release of three detained Ra’am activists, describing their detention as interference with the election. The reporting did not establish whether those activists were the same three suspects held in the vote-buying investigation.