Netanyahu claims Arabs ‘stole’ Israeli election after massive vote

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Arab parties “stole” the country’s closely-contested election yesterday after a massive voter turnout suggested a historically strong result for the minor bloc.

With 88 per cent of votes counted after yesterday’s vote, Netanyahu’s Likud party has 20.7 per cent, while his chief challenger Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has 16.2 per cent, and Arab-led parties had a combined 15 per cent.

Results indicate that neither Netanyahu’s nor Eisenkot’s coalition blocs would reach the 61 seats needed for a majority in parliament, the 120-seat Knesset.

Local media projected 53 seats for Likud and allied parties, 48 for Yashar and allied parties and 19 for Arab-led parties.

Posting a statement attributed to the Likud party, Netanyahu claimed they would provide “evidence” to police and security agencies of electoral malfeasance. No evidence has been provided as of yet.

“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters,” Netanyahu said on X.

“The Likud party is transferring to the police, the Shin Bet, and the Central Elections Committee hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence regarding election theft in many Arab polling stations - thousands of envelopes with cash and Ra’am slips, threats and violence against polling station members, multiple voting behind the curtain, voting with double identities, discrepancies between the number of envelopes and the number of voters, the use of prohibited mobilisation software, and more.“

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Likud is demanding a “thorough investigation” into the alleged election interference, though no evidence has been publicly provided.

“This is a serious blow to Israeli democracy and the voting rights of Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu said.

“The law enforcement agencies must act with an iron fist and in an immediate manner.”

Netanyahu was accused of racist rhetoric throughout the election campaign, including posting an AI-generated clip on X on election day warning against giving Arab parties “the keys to the country”.

Arab Israelis make up about 20 per cent of the country’s population, but usually have a depressed voter turnout in the country’s elections.

Yesterday’s vote was observed to be an exception, with the Arab population turning out to polling booths in large numbers.

The elections committee has said that reports about irregularities were much lower than in previous elections.

Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition has ruled out partnering with Arab parties to form government.

Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the IDF, has left the door open to partnering with Arab parties under certain conditions, including their recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and of Hamas as an extremist group.

Some of Eisenkot's likely partners have ruled out such an alliance but could change their minds to force Netanyahu from office.

“We have no future here if we do not stop being afraid,” said Yair Golan, whose Democrats party supports bringing Arab-led parties into a coalition.

“We must no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes.”

Another much-debated option among Israelis is a unity government with Netanyahu and Eisenkot.

Israel’s Arab citizens are descendants of Palestinians who remained in the state after its creation in 1948.

They often face discrimination and are viewed with wariness because of their solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

That suspicion intensified after the October 7 attacks by Hamas in 2023, even though Arab citizens were also among those killed and abducted.

Reported with Associated Press.