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Russian ambassador refutes rumors of Moscow’s plans to interfere with Israeli election

The vote is scheduled for April 9

Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov

© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

TEL AVIV, January 24. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov resolutely refuted the rumors that Russia’s authorities are allegedly going to interfere with the upcoming parliamentary election in Israel that will be held on April 9.

"I can assure the citizens and the people of Israel there are no intentions in the Russian government and official authorities to intervene in any political process in the State of Israel, including the upcoming elections," Viktorov said.

Head of the Israel Security Agency (Shabak - TASS) Nadav Argaman said earlier in January in his speech to the forum Friends of Tel Aviv University that some foreign state "is going to interfere" with the parliamentary election in Israel in April "through hacking and cyber attacks." Some Israeli media suggested that Argaman could mean Russia

"When a person comes to the public he must be sure about what he is talking about. And I suspect there is no proof" for the allegations, Viktorov said. "We [Russia and Israel] have very advanced bilateral cooperation in the security field, we have channels to exchange information: why were these channels not involved?" he added.

On December 24, the heads of the parties which are part of Israel’s government coalition unanimously decided to dissolve the Knesset and hold an early parliamentary election in Israel. The reason for the dissolution was disagreements on the draft law on recruiting Orthodox Jews to the Israeli army. On December 26, 2018, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) approved the law on voluntary dissolution and set an early parliamentary election in the country for April 9. Benjamin Netanyahu's government will continue to operate until a new cabinet is formed in late April 2019.

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