Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Arab parties of ‘stealing’ Israeli election as deadlock looms

Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Arab parties of "stealing" the Israeli election as the nation remains deadlocked after Tuesday’s vote.

The Israeli Prime Minister accused his opponents of "bribery, threats, violence, forgery and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters".

He added that his party, Likud, had submitted hundreds of witness statements and pieces of evidence to the police, the Shin Bet security service and the Central Elections Committee (CEC), detailing the alleged fraud.

However, the CEC's acting director general, Dean Livne, stated there was “no basis for allegations of election theft”.

Mr Netanyahu’s accusations came after Israel’s two Arab parties, The Joint List and Ra'am, were projected to double their support in the 120-member Knesset.

With more than 90 per cent of ballots counted, the Joint List was on course for 12 seats, whilst Ra'am, the conservative party led by Mansour Abbas, was set to claim seven.

The huge success potentially places the two Arab parties in the role of potential kingmakers, with the race to form Israel’s next government currently deadlocked.

Mr Netanyahu's right-wing bloc, comprising Likud and its ultra-nationalist and religious Orthodox allies, has secured 53 seats, eight short of the 61 required to command a parliamentary majority.

The opposition, led by former IDF commander Gadi Eisenkot's centrist Yashar Party and its "change bloc" partners, won 48 seats.

Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen told AFP his party was prepared to cooperate with an opposition-led government to remove Netanyahu but would not enter a coalition directly.

“We do not see the possibility of being part of an Israeli government coalition under the current political circumstances, particularly given the ongoing war in Gaza, the settlements in the West Bank,” he said.

“Anyone who wants to offer a substantive and genuine alternative to Netanyahu's blood-soaked government will have to talk to us,” Mr Jabareen added.

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Ra'am took a different stance, signalling its willingness to join a governing coalition, as it did in 2021, provided it met its demands for crime reduction in Arab communities and socioeconomic investment.

Only Yair Golan's Democrats, which secured 8 seats, have called for a Jewish-Arab alliance.

Other parties had pledged during the campaign not to rely on Arab support to form a government.

Addressing Nentayahu’s fraud claims, Mr Eisenkot insisted that: "Political actors must not be allowed to exploit the situation and affect the swearing-in date of the 26th Knesset.”

Mr Golan accused the Israeli Prime Minister of waging "an ugly delegitimisation campaign against the will of the public, and against the Arab public in particular".

President Isaac Herzog, a former Labour leader who has advocated a national unity government, urged restraint.

He warned against “tarnishing an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy”.

Mr Eisenkot said in a statement that the investigation into possible election meddling must be carried out without politicians intervening.

He said: "Likud and Netanyahu have set out on an orchestrated organised campaign to delegitimise the election results."