JERUSALEM: Israeli electoral authorities on Wednesday rejected allegations of fraud promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Arab parties, which could hold the key to removing him from power after a divisive election.
President Isaac Herzog will officially receive the results of the October 27 election at noon (1000 GMT) as he decides whether to give Netanyahu or his rival Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government, with neither commanding enough votes to govern alone.
The Central Elections Committee said it had audited 9,069 polling stations following complaints and was confident that the announced results “accurately reflect the will of the voters”.
“All complaints submitted by political factions have been reviewed and there were no findings indicating harm to the integrity of the election,” it said in a statement.
Netanyahu has repeatedly alleged fraud by Arab-majority parties, pointing to the arrests of several people found with envelopes of cash on election day. He later claimed that lawmakers had received money from Qatar, allegations that have previously been levelled against his own aides.
Late on Tuesday, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said she would not question anyone without evidence, following reports that the head of the domestic security service Shin Bet, a Netanyahu ally, had asked to interrogate members of Arab parties.
Netanyahu’s Likud party lashed out at her, saying she was trying to “obstruct the investigation and to cover up this serious case of manipulation of the electoral process by foreign actors”.
Eisenkot, a former military chief seeking to unite centrists and the centre-right and end Netanyahu’s long, polarising rule, accused Likud of attempting a “pogrom against democracy”.
He had earlier warned Netanyahu against launching a new war with Iran alongside his close ally, US President Donald Trump, which could help the Israeli prime minister push for a unity government or run out the clock until new elections.
No unity government
Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and key figure in the opposition bloc, pointed to the midterm elections in the United States, in which Democrats resoundingly trounced Trump’s Republicans.
The Shin Bet “outbursts”, coupled with the US election results, “eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu”.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who has held office intermittently for nearly two decades, has called for a “broad national government” with himself at the helm.
Herzog’s statements have fuelled speculation that he could sound out party leaders on a possible unity government, hoping to bring stability to a country sharply divided after three years of war and over Netanyahu’s hard-right politics.
Herzog holds a largely ceremonial role as head of state, but has the decisive say over who gets the first chance to try to become prime minister. The process could take weeks or even months and may end in failure and new elections.
After officially receiving the results, Herzog will begin two days of consultations with political parties, starting with the smaller ones.
Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has the 61 seats needed to secure a majority in the 120-member parliament.
Netanyahu’s bloc has an edge, with 53 seats compared with Eisenkot’s 48.
Eisenkot could reach the threshold if he allied with parties representing the Arab minority, whose seat count surged to 19 amid anger over the actions and rhetoric of Netanyahu’s government.
But some in the opposition have baulked at relying on the votes of non-Jewish lawmakers.
Fresh thinking
Herzog, a mild-mannered lawyer whose political career began in the now-defunct left-wing Labour Party but who is officially non-partisan, has said he wants to encourage “fresh thinking” and avoid another election.
Once Herzog appoints someone, they will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
If no one succeeds, Herzog will give the mandate to someone else. If that attempt also fails, a majority of lawmakers could come together to nominate someone within 21 days, or Israel will head to new elections.
After the last election in November 2022, Netanyahu, whose Likud party had performed better, took 58 days to form a government.
Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 after repeated political deadlocks.
Netanyahu faces corruption charges and the risk of imprisonment if he loses power and, with it, immunity.
Yousef Jabareen, head of the largest Arab-majority party in the next parliament, told AFP this week that the opposition needed to accept “political reality” and join forces to remove Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has repeatedly warned Jewish Israelis that the opposition will work with Arab parties, which he accuses of supporting Hamas.
Leaders of Arab-Israeli parties have unanimously condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack without describing the Palestinian Islamist movement as a terror group.
