Israeli Officials Reject Netanyahu Claims Of Widespread Election Fraud
Law enforcement and election authorities found no evidence of systematic manipulation after the prime minister claimed foreign interference boosted Arab turnout in the parliamentary election.
Israeli law enforcement and election officials on Oct. 29 rejected allegations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the parliamentary vote was stolen. Authorities confirmed there was no evidence demonstrating systematic manipulation.
Netanyahu and his Likud party claimed after Tuesday's vote that Qatar and Turkey funded illicit efforts to boost Arab-Israeli turnout. Likud submitted 1,183 complaints alleging voter intimidation, bribery, double voting and illegal turnout software at polling stations.
The Israel Police stated that Election Day saw very few irregularities. Police officials said there was zero investigative or intelligence substantiation for assertions of a stolen election.
Acting Director General Dean Livne of the Central Elections Committee stated that polling station integrity was rigorously safeguarded. He said voting occurred strictly according to the law.
Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg instructed the Shin Bet domestic security agency to examine intelligence regarding potential foreign funding. Sohlberg noted that the suspicions remained unverified.
The Shin Bet stated that its inquiry arose from its own intelligence rather than political complaints. The agency emphasized that its limited review should not cast suspicion on lawful Arab voters.
Unofficial election returns gave Arab-led factions 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The results left Netanyahu's right-wing bloc and the opposition short of the 61-seat threshold needed for a majority.
Arab voter turnout reached approximately 60 percent, lifting overall turnout to 77.7 percent. Netanyahu warned Zionist parties against forming a coalition reliant on the United Arab List, known as Ra'am, or the Joint List.
Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas and Joint List leaders denied any foreign funding or bribery. They accused Netanyahu of running an incitement campaign against Arab citizens.
Opposition Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of attempting to delegitimize democracy to block opponents from forming a government. In Doha, Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari dismissed the interference claims as disinformation.
Israeli security assessments examined money transfers through local currency exchanges that resembled unauthorized networks, but found no links to Turkey or Qatar. Separately, police arrested seven suspects in southern Israel in a local bribery inquiry handled by the Lahav 433 National Fraud Squad.
The Central Elections Committee confirmed that the Shin Bet inquiry will not delay the counting of absentee ballots or the certification of final results. Justice Sohlberg instructed the Shin Bet to report any substantiated findings within a week to match the statutory window for election appeals.
President Isaac Herzog will proceed with official consultations to task a party leader with coalition negotiations. Meanwhile, the Lahav 433 squad continues questioning the suspects detained in the Negev bribery probe.
