Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has alleged that Arab-led parties stole the country’s parliamentary election, raising tensions over the results as vote counting continues to show his right-wing bloc falling short of the majority needed to form a government.
Netanyahu’s Likud party accused Arab political parties of electoral fraud and foreign interference, but Israeli police said on Thursday that there was no investigative or intelligence evidence to substantiate claims that the election had been stolen.
Preliminary projections from Tuesday’s election put Netanyahu’s bloc at 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, Israel’s parliament, against 48 seats for the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. Arab-led parties are projected to win a combined 19 seats, potentially giving them significant influence over efforts to form the next government.
A party or coalition needs at least 61 seats to command a parliamentary majority, leaving both major political blocs short of the threshold and setting the stage for potentially difficult coalition negotiations.
According to preliminary results reported on Thursday, nearly 90% of the votes had been counted, with hundreds of thousands of special ballots still outstanding. Final results were expected later in the week, although the remaining votes were not expected to produce a clear winner.
Netanyahu Alleges Fraud and Foreign Interference
As counting continued on Wednesday, Netanyahu alleged, without providing evidence, that the election had been “stolen by Arab parties”. He said Likud had gathered evidence of electoral fraud and submitted it to electoral authorities, law enforcement agencies and security bodies.
Likud subsequently accused Arab-led parties of benefiting from alleged bribery, voter intimidation, ballot manipulation and illegal voter-mobilisation methods. The party also claimed that foreign entities had provided financial support to Arab parties, but did not initially provide evidence establishing the allegations.
The allegations followed a strong performance by Arab-led parties, including the Joint List and Ra’am, which were projected to secure a combined 19 seats, a substantial increase from their existing representation.
The Central Elections Committee confirmed that it had received Likud’s complaint and was reviewing it under its election-integrity monitoring process. The committee had previously indicated that there was no basis for claims of systematic violations of electoral integrity.
Israeli police reinforced that position on Thursday, saying election day had passed with relatively few unusual incidents concerning electoral integrity, even compared with previous elections. Police said there was no investigative or intelligence-based evidence supporting the claims that the election had been stolen.
Opposition Condemns Netanyahu’s Claims
Opposition figures condemned Netanyahu’s allegations, accusing him of undermining the legitimacy of Arab voters and attempting to cast doubt on an election in which his political bloc failed to secure a parliamentary majority.
Yair Golan, leader of the centre-left Democrats party, accused Netanyahu of pursuing a campaign to delegitimise Arab voters. Other opposition figures warned against using allegations of foreign interference to influence the electoral process or delay the formation of the next parliament.
The dispute has also raised questions about whether parties opposed to Netanyahu can overcome their differences and cooperate to form a government. Eisenkot’s bloc would need support from other parties, potentially including Arab-led factions, to reach the 61-seat threshold.
Netanyahu and his allies have consistently opposed the prospect of Arab parties playing a decisive role in government formation, while some opposition parties remain reluctant to rely on their support.
