Netanyahu loses majority, then claims Israeli election was stolen

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are claiming the October 27 election was “stolen” by Arab parties, after his coalition lost its parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu’s coalition dropped to 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, short of the 61 needed. Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has 48 seats, but with 19 seats from Arab parties it would reach a 67-seat majority.

According to CNN, Netanyahu’s camp alleges bribery, foreign funding and fraud by the Joint List and Raam, and is demanding investigations, arrests and, in the most extreme version, a new vote. It has yet to present any evidence.

“They are doing this because they lost”, Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger, said in a Thursday video statement.

The Central Elections Committee dismissed the claims as baseless, saying there is no evidentiary basis for alleging a systematic compromise of the vote. Chairman Noam Solberg said: “Your decision at the ballot box will be honored.”

The Joint List said: “No smear campaign will erase the achievement of the Arab public, and no attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of our vote will change the will of the voters.”