Bedouin doctor claims political bias in Ra'am vote-buying case after release

A court ordered the unconditional release of Saef Abu Raesh, a physician in Rahat, who had been detained on election day over suspected vote-buying for the Ra’am party. Abu Raesh spoke to Haaretz on Monday, the day after his release, stating that investigators presented no evidence supporting the charges against him.

The doctor, who operates a clinic in the southern Bedouin town, said he organized a local drive to encourage residents to cast ballots. He recounted being asked by investigators which party he supported and if he understood that his actions could influence who leads the country. During a transfer between stations, Abu Raesh alleged an officer asked why Arabs were unhappy with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, claiming the minister had provided law and order and done only good for them.

Abu Raesh said that exchange convinced him the case was politically driven. He accused authorities of discouraging young Bedouins from voting. Ben Gvir’s tenure has seen a sharp rise in the demolition of unpermitted Bedouin homes and a roughly twofold increase in annual homicides across Arab society.

Describing his arrest at dawn, Abu Raesh said police woke him by knocking while his pregnant wife and daughters slept. He said he was taken to a station in handcuffs and never cast a ballot, despite officers telling him they would take him to vote. An officer at the Dimona station questioned why he was raising the issue only then, according to his account.

Abu Raesh was one of three people detained on election day. One of the others went to house arrest, while one remains in custody. Four more people were arrested later; three are on house arrest, and one had restrictions lifted after a lawyer’s appeal.

The case is part of a dispute over the election in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition lost its majority. Netanyahu has used the Ra’am allegations and a separate probe into suspected Qatari interference to challenge the results. Officials maintain the results are valid and the probes are limited. On Sunday, Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg said the election was conducted properly. He appeared in a video with Shin Bet chief David Zini, acting director-general Dean Livne, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

Likud questioned how Sohlberg could view foreign interference seriously while concluding it did not affect the outcome. Netanyahu described the three election-day suspects as senior Ra’am financial operatives trying to steal the election. Abu Raesh’s lawyer, Ali Abu Laban, told Army Radio that his client was not a Ra’am activist but encouraged voting to improve conditions in Arab society. The lawyer also challenged the initial detention extension, noting police found neither money nor envelopes at the doctor’s home.