Netanyahu Accused of 'Ugly' Smear Tactics Over Vote-Stealing Claim, Rebuked by President

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of using ugly smear tactics to cling to power after claiming Arab Israeli parties used foreign backing to 'steal' Tuesday's election, in which his coalition lost its parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu and his allies called on the internal security service Shin Bet to investigate alleged vote buying and other irregularities in Palestinian communities in Israel, supposedly funded by foreign money.

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the main opposition bloc, accused the prime minister and his Likud party of trying to derail the election results. In a video message he said it was already clear Likud and Netanyahu had embarked on a coordinated, organised campaign seeking to delegitimise the results.

The prime minister's allegations were disowned by a range of government officials, including police officers and election committee members. He was also rebuked by the president for 'tarnishing an entire community'.

On Wednesday night Netanyahu posted a Likud statement online describing the claimed violations as an attack on democracy whose purpose was a foreign takeover of the Knesset, the Islamisation of Israel and the overthrow of rightwing rule.

Tuesday's election saw Netanyahu's far-right coalition lose its majority after four years in power. The main Jewish opposition bloc also fell short, leaving two Arab Israeli parties, the Joint List and Ra'am, holding the balance of power.

With almost all votes counted, Netanyahu's coalition has 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Eisenkot's bloc has 48, and the Joint List and Ra'am together have 19 seats — a historic high for the Arab Israeli community, which makes up about a fifth of Israel's population.

The acting director general of the central elections committee, Dean Livneh, said there appeared to be no basis for the claims. Police officials quoted across the Israeli press said the allegations were groundless and voting had been relatively trouble-free.

President Isaac Herzog called on political leaders to avoid tarnishing an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy.

Likud statements did not name the alleged foreign power, but press reports said Qatar was alleged to have funded vote-buying and voter mobilisation. Majed al-Ansari, an adviser to Qatar's prime minister, said its government categorically denied any involvement in the elections.

On Thursday, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the arrest of Arab party leaders, and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded they be subjected to Shin Bet interrogation.

Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen accused the prime minister of incitement, saying Netanyahu was defeated at the ballot box and refuses to accept that the Arab public voted and decided.

Eisenkot said any investigation should be conducted without fear or favour and with utmost caution, but it could not be used to delay convening the newly elected Knesset, due to be sworn in within 14 days of the election.

Joint List leader Ahmad Tibi said Netanyahu was trying to subvert the results by sabotaging a common front between the Eisenkot bloc and the Arab Israeli parties.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett pointed to the irony of Netanyahu denouncing Qatar for election meddling amid a scandal in which the Israeli leader's own political advisers are accused of taking Qatari money to promote the Gulf monarchy's image.