Israeli officials say results stand as Netanyahu claims election ‘stolen’
Summary
Israel’s Central Elections Committee chief said the election results would stand even if suspicions of foreign interference were confirmed. Netanyahu’s Likud party questioned the results without providing evidence, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of trying to undermine them. No bloc won enough seats to form a government alone.Key Facts
- Central Elections Committee head Noam Sohlberg said substantiated suspicions of foreign interference would not undermine the election results as a whole.
- Netanyahu’s Likud party alleged that Arab-led parties had stolen votes and received funding from Qatar, but provided no evidence.
- Qatar rejected the allegations and called them a disinformation campaign.
- Police released two of three activists arrested before the election over alleged plans to bribe voters; police said the suspects were connected to the Arab-led Ra’am party.
- The election results gave Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats, the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot 48 seats, and Arab-led parties a record 19 seats in the 120-seat parliament.
- A coalition of Arab-led parties and Eisenkot’s bloc could hold 67 seats, but cooperation with Arab parties is politically contentious in Israel.
- The results were due to be officially certified that week, after which President Isaac Herzog would nominate a candidate to form a government.
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