Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing Likud party fell short of gaining a 61-seat majority needed to control the Knesset as the election results were finalized.
Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats, while the opposition bloc, led by former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats and the Arab parties the remaining 19 seats. This puts Netanyahu’s party in a bind, as the opposition bloc could choose to join forces with the Arab parties to form a majority government.
The alliance would be a direct repudiation of Netanyahu, who blamed alleged foreign election interference for boosting the Arab vote in Israel’s legislative elections on Tuesday.
“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters,” Netanyahu posted on X.
“The Likud party is transferring to the police, the Shin Bet, and the Central Elections Committee hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence regarding election theft in many Arab polling stations,” he wrote, naming various pieces of evidence.
Following an order by Israel’s top election official, the Shin Bet is investigating suspected Qatari and Turkish funding to boost Arab turnout at polling locations this week.
Qatar denied the “ridiculous and dangerous” allegations that it was involved in swaying Israel’s elections, and Eisenkot mocked Netanyahu’s promotion of the foreign interference allegations before an investigation got underway.
“I commend Netanyahu for finally condemning Qatari involvement in the State of Israel,” he said, referencing accusations that the prime minister’s former top aides accepted money from Qatar.
“Foreign involvement in the State of Israel is an unacceptable and gravely serious matter, especially when it involves a country that funds and supports the Hamas organization,” Eisenkot added. “This is grave when it happens in the Prime Minister’s Office and grave if it occurs in the election system.”
The opposition leader wants the Shin Bet to investigate the allegations “impartially, thoroughly, and immediately” while respecting the rights of voters. He specifically called out Netanyahu for waging an “illegitimate influence operation on the Israeli public.”
ISRAELI TOP ELECTION OFFICIAL ORDERS SHIN BET TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE WITH ARAB VOTE
Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned about demonizing Arab Israeli voters, saying “we must not tarnish an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy.”
All votes are counted, but the results need to be certified and submitted to Herzog next Wednesday.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
