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. Arab-led parties including the Joint List headed by Yousef Jabareen (C) won a record 19 seats and could play a kingmaker role Israeli media reported that the CEC had been presented with a claim that Qatar had provided funding…