Israel Rejects Netanyahu Claims of Election Fraud

Israel's election authorities have confirmed the results of the October 27 parliamentary vote, rejecting allegations of widespread fraud promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his coalition lost its governing majority. The Central Elections Committee delivered the official results to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, November 4, clearing the way for negotiations over Israel's next government.

The committee said its examination found no evidence that fraud or foreign interference had compromised the election or changed its outcome. Netanyahu's Likud coalition secured 53 seats in the 120-member parliament, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats independently.

However, support from the Arab parties, which hold 19 seats, could give the opposition a combined 67-seat majority. A government requires at least 61 seats to command a parliamentary majority, according to the election figures reported by CNN.

The Central Elections Committee addressed the allegations directly in its official statement.

"The review found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results," the Central Elections Committee said.

Committee chair Noam Sohlberg acknowledged that certain allegations remained under investigation but said they did not justify questioning the overall result.

"Suspicions," Sohlberg said, remained under examination.

He also explained that the outstanding inquiries would not affect the certification process.

"They do not cast doubt on the election as a whole or justify delaying the election results," Sohlberg said.

The confirmation followed weeks of accusations targeting the Joint List and Raam, two Palestinian-led political parties that recorded strong voter participation. Netanyahu and his allies alleged bribery, foreign funding, intimidation and ballot manipulation, but had not established evidence of systematic interference.

The controversy also involved an attempted investigation of senior Palestinian political figures by the Shin Bet security service. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara blocked the request, saying investigators had not provided sufficient evidence to justify questioning the politicians.

Her decision emphasized the legal protections afforded to elected representatives and ordinary citizens.

"In a country governed by the rule of law, neither citizens nor elected officials can be interrogated without evidence that justifies doing so," Baharav-Miara said.

According to reporting by Haaretz cited by The Guardian, four politicians were targeted in the proposed investigation. Shin Bet director David Zini had requested the interrogations and sought to classify the matter as a security investigation, potentially allowing restrictions on access to legal counsel.

Eisenkot, Netanyahu's principal political challenger, accused the prime minister of attempting to undermine democratic institutions after losing parliamentary support.

He described Netanyahu's campaign against the election results as a "pogrom against democracy" in his criticism of the government's treatment of Palestinian-led parties.

In an earlier statement reported by CNN, Eisenkot also challenged the legitimacy of the fraud allegations.

"They are doing this because they lost," Eisenkot said.

He further criticized the alleged use of government institutions for political purposes, arguing that public officials must remain accountable to the state rather than individual political leaders.

"The employees of the Ministry of Defense, law enforcement and the civil service in Israel are servants of the state, not the king," Eisenkot said.

He warned against officials exploiting their positions for political objectives.

"Woe to anyone who abuses their authority and role for political considerations," Eisenkot said.

The dispute has also drawn attention to Netanyahu's earlier political campaigns against Arab voter participation. In 2015, he warned right-wing supporters that Arab citizens were heading to polling stations in large numbers, using the phrase "in droves."

During the latest campaign, Netanyahu's allies again questioned the legitimacy of Arab participation. Netanyahu himself promoted allegations that the election had been "stolen" through political manipulation.

Before the October 27 vote, Netanyahu and Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to deploy approximately 2,000 observers at polling stations in Arab communities. Police also arrested three Raam activists over an alleged cash-for-votes scheme, although courts rejected most requests for restrictive measures and some suspects were released.

Likud subsequently said it had submitted hundreds of testimonies alleging bribery, threats, violence and forgery involving Raam and the Joint List. The allegations also included claims of foreign financing.

Central Elections Committee chair Noam Sohlberg had previously written to Shin Bet director David Zini about "serious suspicions" involving foreign funding. However, the letter acknowledged that he could not independently establish the strength of the evidence.

Far-right politicians subsequently demanded tougher action against the Palestinian-led parties. Likud lawmaker Boaz Bismuth argued that the results of the "terrorist parties" should not be accepted until investigators examined the allegations thoroughly.

"Every stone," Bismuth wrote, should be examined before the results were recognized.

Netanyahu also shared a video featuring an activist calling for the election to be annulled.

"Simply invalidate the elections," the activist said.

Despite those demands, the election authorities maintained that the voting process remained valid. Sohlberg had previously appeared alongside the Shin Bet chief and attorney general to address concerns about the election, emphasizing that allegations of foreign funding would not automatically invalidate the results.

He reaffirmed the authority of voters to determine the country's political direction.

"Your decision at the ballot box will be honored," Sohlberg said.

Likud continued to challenge the outcome despite the committee's findings, describing a "black cloud" as hanging over the election results.

Israeli defense analyst Amos Harel also criticized the reported coordination between government officials and security agencies during the controversy.

"There is a common denominator between the two affairs," Harel wrote in Haaretz.

He argued that political officials had used developments involving security institutions to influence public perceptions of the opposition.

"In both cases the Prime Minister's Office is stirring things behind the scenes with the Shin Bet and the police, and Likud immediately leverages the reports into a massive propaganda campaign," Harel wrote.

Meanwhile, President Herzog condemned racist rhetoric directed at Palestinian citizens of Israel, who represent approximately 20% of the country's population and participated in the election at historically high levels.

He emphasized their contribution to Israeli society and criticized discriminatory public statements.

"I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently," Herzog said.

He also expressed respect for Arab citizens and their participation in national life.

"I hold Arab society in Israel in great respect. I value its contribution to the country in every area of life, and its desire to integrate," Herzog said.

Among the politicians reportedly targeted by the proposed Shin Bet investigation was Ahmad Tibi, a prominent Palestinian political figure. He responded sarcastically to the allegations, comparing claims about Arab election participation with suspicions involving political connections in the United States.

"[The] attorney general is checking suspicion of ties between the Joint List and Democrats in the US," Tibi wrote on social media.

He questioned the suggestion that large numbers of people voting could constitute evidence of wrongdoing.

"According to the suspicion, in both cases the same sophisticated method was employed: people arrived in droves at the polling stations, cast a slip, and went home," Tibi wrote.

Herzog now faces the responsibility of selecting the politician who will receive the first opportunity to form a governing coalition. Eisenkot is expected to receive that mandate, potentially as early as Thursday evening, November 5, although coalition negotiations could take several weeks or longer.