JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has alleged without evidence that Israel's October 27 election was "stolen" by Arab parties through bribery, foreign funding and fraud, escalating claims after his coalition fell short of a parliamentary majority.
With his Likud party and allies dropping to 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Netanyahu and his allies have pressed a serious accusation targeting the Joint List and Raam, the two Arab parties that saw record voter turnout. The prime minister and Religious Zionist party chair Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to deploy about 2,000 observers at polling stations in Arab communities, framing the voting as potentially fraudulent. Early on election morning, police arrested three Raam activists over an alleged cash-for-votes scheme, an incident Netanyahu's camp amplified as evidence of election theft.
A leaked letter from Central Elections Committee chair Noam Solberg to Shin Bet chief David Zini requesting an inquiry into "serious suspicions" of foreign funding was treated by Netanyahu's allies as confirmation of wrongdoing, though Solberg later stated he could not verify the evidence. On election night, Likud said it had submitted hundreds of testimonies alleging bribery, threats, violence and forgery from Raam and the Joint List. Pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 reported suspicions of millions of shekels from a foreign source.
Far-right ministers Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir called for the arrest of Arab party leaders, with Ben Gvir alleging a Qatari-funded effort to boost Arab voter turnout. Qatar denied the claim as "ridiculous and dangerous."
Election authorities pushed back. The Central Elections Committee, the Shin Bet and the attorney-general issued a joint statement saying the elections were conducted properly. Even if foreign funding suspicions are substantiated, they said, it won't overturn the result or undermine the integrity of the process. "Your decision at the ballot box will be honored," Solberg said.
Netanyahu himself shared a video of a right-wing activist claiming massive forgeries and calling to "simply invalidate the elections." Opposition leaders condemned the effort. Gadi Eisenkot called it a "despicable and malicious influence operation," and Yair Golan said it showed how "a dictator who refuses to accept defeat at the ballot box" behaves.
The Joint List responded: "No smear campaign will erase the achievement of the Arab public, and no attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of our vote will change the will of the voters."
Despite the allegations, the election results stand. With 53 seats, Netanyahu has no clear path to a majority. The Arab bloc's 19 seats could prove pivotal in forming a future government — the only previous government to oust Netanyahu, the Bennett-Lapid coalition in 2021, included Raam and collapsed after roughly a year.
