Although senior members of Balad, part of the predominantly Arab Joint List, knew the police were conducting an investigation on the suspicion that funds were being illegally funneled to them, they were astonished by the raid on the movement’s offices and the arrest of senior members Sept. 18.
The investigation began after the state comptroller, who probes violations of the Party Funding Law, received certain information. The material collected was given to the police before the comptroller’s report was disseminated. (Usually, the police begin an investigation after the comptroller publishes a report.) The police undercover investigation raised suspicions that senior Balad members had received millions of shekels from various organizations in Arab states, mainly Qatar. Azmi Bishara, a former Knesset member and Balad founder, now resides in Qatar. Bishara fled Israel in 2007 after he was suspected of funneling classified information to Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War, in 2006.