With no definitive result yet from the elections that will determine Israel’s next leader, the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused Arab parties of defrauding the vote in the country “through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, falsifications and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters.”
In a post on X, Netanyahu said that his party is sending to the police, to the Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency, and to the electoral authorities evidence of the crimes allegedly committed by the Arabs. The evidence mentioned by Netanyahu was not published on the social network.
“This is a grave attack on Israeli democracy and the right to vote of Israel’s citizens. The authorities must act with an iron fist and immediately,” concluded the Israeli leader in the post.
According to the local channel N12, with almost 90% of the results tallied, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats, while the opposition — led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot — had 48 and the Arab parties, 19. A majority in the parliament requires 61 seats.
Eisenkot would have left the door open for a coalition with Arab parties under certain conditions, which could force Netanyahu out of office. Another option much debated is a national unity government with both Netanyahu and Eisenkot.
*With information from Associated Press
