Israel election dispute intensifies as authorities reject claims of systematic fraud

Israel’s election authorities and police have rejected claims by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party that Arab-led parties stole this week’s parliamentary election, even as the country’s Central Election Committee has asked the Shin Bet security service to investigate possible foreign interference. The completed count gives Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, according to the South China Morning Post and other reports. The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot has 48 seats, while Arab-led parties hold the remaining 19.

A majority requires 61 seats. Likud has alleged that Arab parties Ra’am and the Joint List used bribery, threats and other illegal methods to increase turnout in Arab communities. The party has also suggested that foreign actors, including Qatar and Turkey, may have supported voter mobilisation efforts.

In a statement quoted by DW, Likud said: “The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state.” The reports say the party has not publicly produced evidence substantiating those claims. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Election Committee, referred “serious suspicions” of improper foreign intervention to the Shin Bet. He also said he could not confirm whether the allegations were true.

The request for an investigation therefore differs from Likud’s certainty that the election was stolen. Israeli police said there was no investigative or intelligence evidence supporting Likud’s allegations. Dean Livne, the election committee’s acting director general, said the committee had received claims rather than evidence and had no basis for accusations of systematic election violations.

The Shin Bet said its inquiry was not intended to cast suspicion on an entire community that had voted legally. Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, reported that the suspicions under examination were limited and had been exaggerated. Qatar denied any involvement, calling the allegations “false propaganda” or “ridiculous and dangerous”, depending on the report.

The dispute has immediate political significance because the 19 Arab seats could determine whether an alternative government to Netanyahu’s can be formed. Netanyahu has ruled out relying on Arab parties, while some opposition figures have discussed cooperation with them. Eisenkot has called for the allegations to be investigated but accused Likud of trying to delegitimise the results.

The results still require formal certification, after which President Isaac Herzog will decide whom to ask to form a government. If no coalition can be assembled, the reports say Israel could face another election. The investigation and the coalition process are unfolding against a backdrop of heightened political polarisation and distrust.