Israeli Politicsupdated 59m ago2 min read
Likud Accuses Arab Parties Of Stealing Israel’s Election, Demands Police And Shin Bet Probe
35outlets comparedWhere the coverage agrees
15 Other6 Western Mainstream5 West Asian9 Other source typesThis article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Likud accuses Arab parties of stealing elections and seeks police and Shin Bet investigation. Arab parties gained seats and could be kingmakers in forming a coalition.
35 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Arab Parties Become Kingmakers as Netanyahu Bloc Falls Short in Israel Election →
www.jpost › Opinion was read line by line by the Watchdog: 6.0. See the score →
Likud alleges election theft
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud accused Arab parties of stealing the election as vote counting was underway, and the party demanded an investigation by the police and the Shin Bet. Likud said it was handing over “hundreds of testimonies and evidence” to the police, the Shin Bet, and the Central Elections Committee, including “thousands of envelopes” with cash and Ra’am slips.
Likud framed its allegations as a threat to democratic legitimacy, calling it “a serious blow to Israeli democracy and the voting rights of Israeli citizens,” and it urged law enforcement to act “with an iron fist and in an immediate manner.” Likud’s statement also asserted that the alleged offenses included bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters across Arab polling stations.
Police reject Likud claims
Israel Police said they had no investigative or intelligence-based evidence supporting Likud’s allegations that Arab parties stole the election, after Likud demanded an investigation into alleged widespread voting irregularities. Police data showed 48 complaints concerning fraud and impersonation had been received nationwide as of last night, compared with nearly 80 during the previous election, and police said Election Day passed with very few incidents affecting the integrity of the voting process.
Likud continued to insist it would submit hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence to the police, the Shin Bet, and the Central Elections Committee, and it alleged that “thousands of envelopes” contained cash alongside Ra’am ballots. Yousef Jabareen, chairman of Israel’s Arab-majority Joint List alliance, rejected the nationalist direction of the incumbent government and said, “We are ready and prepared to pave the way for the ousting of the Netanyahu government,” as vote counting continued.
Coalition stakes and next steps
As Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition bloc remained short of the 61-seat majority needed to govern, the Arab parties’ seat totals were described as potentially decisive in negotiations over forming the next government. Euronews said the Central Elections Committee estimated “double envelope” ballots at between 430,000 and 480,000, equating to about 12 seats in the Knesset, and it said full vote counting was scheduled for Thursday afternoon with final official results to be published on November 4.
France 24 reported that partial results after about 70 percent of the ballots showed Netanyahu’s bloc at 54 seats and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot at 47 seats, while it said the two Arab lists were expected to together win between 17 and 18 seats. France 24 also quoted Gidon Rahat, saying Itamar Ben-Gvir contributed to pushing Arab citizens to the polls with his rhetoric, and it described the Arab parties as potentially holding “the pivotal power to determine who will be the next prime minister and the shape of the governing coalition.”