Israeli opposition accuses Netanyahu of trying to 'delegitimise' election

The main Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and Arab-led party leaders have denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleging foreign interference following the election which saw his coalition lose its majority.

Netanyahu's Likud accused Israel's Arab-led parties of "stealing" the election. Home security agency Shin Bet is investigating whether they received illegal funding from Qatar and Turkey.

Qatar's foreign ministry denied the "ridiculous and dangerous" allegations and accused Israeli politicians of conducting a disinformation campaign against Doha.

Final results confirmed that neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the Jewish opposition had won a majority in parliament.

The two Arab party lists - The Joint List and the Ra'am - defied expectations to win a record 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset following a surge in turnout among Arab voters.

That positions them as potential kingmakers, with Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats and his rival Gadi Eisenkot's bloc securing 48.

On Thursday Likud alleged that voters had been "bribed" to vote for Arab parties, after the head of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) asked the Shin Bet security service to investigate "serious suspicions" of foreign interference.

Both Arab parties strongly rejected the claim, with the Arab-majority Joint List alliance saying it was baseless.

The row is being seen by Netanyahu's critics as an attempt to delegitimise the Arab parties, thereby making it politically impossible for Eisenkot to join forces with them - which is currently his bloc's only route to power.

Israeli media reported that the CEC had been presented with a claim that Qatar had provided funding aimed at increasing voter turnout in Arab communities. Qatar's Foreign Ministry "categorically" denied the claims.

Netanyahu and his Likud Party framed the allegations as a "political earthquake" and an "an attack on democracy", aimed at removing their right-wing government.

But the Shin Bet later clarified that their investigation did not implicate an entire community who had voted legally, while acting CEC Director General Dean Livne said there was "no basis for allegations of systematic violations of election integrity."

Eisenkot, who was briefed on the investigation, said "it is too early to determine what happened, or if anything happened at all," and accused Netanyahu of running "an orchestrated and organized campaign to delegitimize the election results".

Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, who is part of the Joint List, dismissed the allegation, saying: "The losing side is constructing a racist blood libel and calling on the security agencies to use force in order to overturn the election results."

Netanyahu's attacks on Arab voters and parties have been ongoing for days. He spent much of election day posting on social media that high Arab turnout is an "emergency" and a "matter of life or death" for the Israeli right. He also shared AI-generated images of Arab voters at polling stations, in an attempt to encourage right-wingers to get out and vote.

Arab Israelis, many of whom refer to themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel, make up about one fifth of the country.

For years, many boycotted Israeli elections, saying voting would legitimise a system that they say treats them as second-class citizens. But their turnout on Tuesday was inspired by a desire to oust the most right-wing governing coalition in Israel's history, led by Netanyahu.

The final results offer only three plausible options for a government to be formed: a national unity government involving Netanyahu and Eisenkot, a right-wing coalition involving Netanyahu and defectors from Eisenkot's bloc, or an Eisenkot-led government supported by the Arab parties.

Eisenkot and every member of his bloc bar one has previously refused to enter government with Arab parties, but speculation has swirled in recent days that an agreement could yet be reached.

A snap poll conducted by Hebrew University showed that the most popular option for voters from every party in the opposition bloc was for Eisenkot to form a minority government with Ra'am, and supported from outside by the Joint List.