Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago2 min read
Likud Amplifies Claims Arab-Led Parties Stole Israel Election, Eisenkot Says
“smear tactics to cling to power”
“Netanyahu's party responded with an inflammatory statement: ‘The elections in Israel have been stolen!’”
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Likud accuses Arab-led parties of stealing election through bribery, intimidation, and ballot forgery. Police say no evidence to support widespread election fraud by Likud or Arab parties.
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Likud alleges stolen vote
Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud amplified unsubstantiated allegations that Arab-led parties had "stolen" the election, as final results were expected to confirm Netanyahu’s bloc had lost its majority in the Knesset. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg told the Shin Bet that he could not verify the claims of foreign interference, but he asked the agency to investigate because the suspicions were "serious".
Likud responded with an inflammatory statement: "The elections in Israel have been stolen!", claiming the alleged interference was "aimed at facilitating a foreign takeover of the Knesset". Gadi Eisenkot accused Likud of delegitimizing the results, saying, "They are doing this because they lost," while Qatar issued a denial calling the allegations "ridiculous and dangerous."
Police and committee push back
Israeli police rejected Likud’s claims, saying there was "no investigative- or intelligence-based supporting evidence for the claims" as vote counting continued. Dean Livneh, the acting director general of the central elections committee, warned that reports about the probe were "entirely unfounded" and said the investigation did not affect the final results submitted to the president.
Mansour Abbas welcomed the investigation and said, "The list has nothing to do with the fraud allegations and foreign funding claims," while Itamar Ben-Gvir called for arrests of Arab party leaders over the unproven "Qatari funds" case. Yair Golan accused Netanyahu of "attempting to undermine the election results through an ugly delegitimization campaign directed against the will of the public — and against the Arab public in particular," as the Joint List asserted, "Netanyahu is working to steal the election."
Coalition stakes and timing
The election results showed Netanyahu’s bloc winning 53 seats in the 120-member assembly, Eisenkot’s bloc taking 48 seats, and Arab-led parties securing 19 seats, leaving every bloc short of the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.
The elections committee said it wanted findings from the Shin Bet within the week, and Israeli law required election results to be certified by Nov. 4, with final results expected to be submitted to the president next Wednesday.
Netanyahu warned that it was "simply forbidden to endanger Israel and form a government that rests on anti-Zionist Arab parties," while he also said Israel had a "historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" with Donald Trump to eliminate the threat from Iran.
President Isaac Herzog called the situation a "sensitive moment" and urged a full investigation, while the Shin Bet said its probe was not meant to "cast aspersions" on an entire section of the population that "exercised its right to vote in a democratic and lawful manner."