Police: Shin Bet must provide more evidence before investigation into foreign funding of elections

Unless the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) provides additional significant evidence, police are expected to recommend against pursuing a criminal investigation into the affair involving funds transferred from Qatar and other countries during the election campaign, Maariv learned on Friday.The emerging recommendation follows a review of materials the Shin Bet submitted to the Israel Police's Investigations and Intelligence Division. The review found that, at this stage, the evidence does not provide sufficient grounds to open a criminal investigation into suspected serious offenses.Maariv learned that senior officials in Lahav 433 - The National Crime Unit examined the materials that Shin Bet had transferred to the office of Assistant-Chief Boaz Balat, head of the police's Investigations and Intelligence Division.After reviewing the materials, officials prepared an assessment and sent it back to the Shin Bet. According to the assessment, the existing findings suggest, at most, a possible minor violation of party financing laws, raising doubts about whether the suspected offense alone would justify opening a criminal investigation.However, the process remains at an interim stage, and no final decision has been made. Should the Shin Bet present significant new findings, the assessment based on the evidence examined so far could change.According to information obtained by Maariv, the Shin Bet is expected to submit its materials to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, along with the police assessment…