Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said rival Arab parties cheated in his country’s elections after exit polls indicated his coalition failed to capture a majority in the Knesset, pushing the Middle Eastern democracy into a political deadlock.
Netanyahu’s Likud party and its allies outperformed expectations on Tuesday. But with results still trickling in on Wednesday evening, the prime minister failed to keep his majority in the Israeli parliament. There is still no clear winner. The opposition bloc, led by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, remains Likud’s top rival. But two Arab parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, outperformed as they gained seats, drawing historic support as they are to win their largest-ever share of the vote.
Netanyahu said the Arab parties had stolen the election, claiming they are guilty of criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters.
“This is a serious blow to Israeli democracy and the voting rights of Israeli citizens,” he said in a post to X. “The law enforcement agencies must act with an iron fist and in an immediate manner.”
Netanyahu demanded election authorities in Israel immediately investigate his allegations, promising that his Likud party would produce hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence regarding election theft in many Arab polling stations, including thousands of envelopes with cash and Ra’am slips, threats and violence against polling station members, multiple voting behind the curtain, voting with double identities, discrepancies between the number of envelopes and the number of voters, and the use of prohibited mobilization software.
Before the election, Netanyahu’s coalition held around 68 of the 120 Knesset seats, and the main opposition to him held around 49 seats.
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With roughly 89% of the vote counted Wednesday evening, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats. The main opposition, led by Eisenkot’s Yashar bloc, held 48 seats.
No bloc reached the winning number of 61 lawmakers, the size of a Knesset coalition necessary to form a government. But Arab parties made the biggest gains, with 19 seats, up from the 10 held by the United Arab List and the Joint List before the elections.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
