Netanyahu Claims Arab Parties ‘Stole’ Israel Election — Likud Alleges Bribery, Threats, Violence, Forgery And Illegal Software, Demands Police And Shin Bet Probe

JERUSALEM:Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party on Wednesday accused Arab parties of stealing Israel’s parliamentary election through serious criminal offenses, demanding an immediate investigation by Israel Police, Shin Bet (ISA), and the Central Elections Committee (CEC).

In a sharply worded statement posted on X and shared by Netanyahu himself, Likud said:

“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the destruction of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses involving bribery, threats, violence, forgery and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters.”

Alleged Evidence:

 Likud said it is transferring “hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence” regarding theft at many Arab polling stations:

Thousands of envelopes containing cash and Ra’am (Islamist party of Mansour Abbas) slips

 Threats and violence against ballot committee members

Multiple voters behind the voting curtain, voting with double identities

Discrepancies between number of envelopes and number of voters

 Use of prohibited mobilization software to boost turnout

 “This is a serious blow to Israeli democracy and to the voting rights of Israeli citizens. Law enforcement agencies must act firmly and immediately,” Likud said.

Context  Why It Matters:*

The accusation comes after a surge in Arab voter turnout (77.7% overall, highest in 25 years). With 85.6% votes counted:

 Netanyahu bloc: 53 seats

Eisenkot-led opposition bloc: 48 seats

Arab parties: 19 seats (Joint List 12 + Ra’am 7) — unprecedented high

 Neither bloc can reach 61 majority without Arab support. The opposition has 67 seats including Arab parties, Netanyahu has 53. Netanyahu had already on election day shared photos of long lines in Arab towns vs empty stations in Likud strongholds, promoting narrative of “Arabs stealing election” — echoing his 2015 “Arabs are flocking to polls” comment.

Responses:

Central Elections Committee:Said it has launched election-integrity monitoring as in every election, received Likud’s request and is reviewing it, but told Channel 12 there is “no indication of systematic tampering.”

Arab leaders:Accused Netanyahu of stoking racism and hatred to delegitimize 20% of population. Around 430-480k absentee ballots (mostly military) still to count by Thursday afternoon, each seat worth ∼40,000 votes.

Haaretz, Times of Israel: Noted Likud provided no public evidence so far.

 Arab politicians and Yair Golan (Democrats) have urged Eisenkot to form unity government with Arab parties despite Likud calling such cooperation illegitimate.