Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud has accused Arab-led parties of having ‘stolen’ the Israeli election.
As results come in from voting, the Arab-led bloc has made huge gains in the Knesset. With more than 90% of votes counted, the two parties, Ra’am and Joint List, are predicted to win 19 seats in the Israeli parliament, up from 10.
With neither Netanyahu’s far-right ultra-nationalist bloc or main rival Gadi Eisenkot’s ‘Change’ bloc set to win a majority, the Arab parties could find themselves kingmakers.
But this clearly hasn’t gone down well with Netanyahu, who has decided to reach for a fascism classic by refusing to recognise the results.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, his Likud party accused the Arab parties of ‘stealing’ the elections.
The party said: “The elections in the state of Israel have been stolen by Arab parties who support terrorism and the annihilation of the Jewish state through serious criminal acts of corruption, threats, violence, falsehoods and the use of prohibited software to encourage voters to vote.”
Likud added that it was submitting testimonies and evidence to the authorities demanding an investigation into the results.
Arab Israelis – who often identify as Palestinian citizens in Israel – turned out in record numbers in what was seen by many as a key opportunity to defeat the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot had ruled out working with the Arab-led parties in the build-up to the election.
Now that neither look set to win a majority though, the Palestinian parties may represent their only route to power.
In particular, it seems difficult to see how Eisenkot could command a government without the support of the Arab bloc.
This is something Yair Golan, the leader of the left-leaning Democrats party in Eisenkot’s bloc, has now called for.
He said in a post on X: “Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That’s how Israeli democracy works. Period.
“The picture of reality must teach us one resounding lesson: We have no future here if we don’t stop being afraid. And if we don’t stop with the racism. We must no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes.
“The voice of an Israeli citizen voting in Taybeh is worth exactly as much as the voice of an Israeli citizen voting in Givat Shmuel. No less. Not approximately. Exactly.
“Anyone who tries to erase the voices of Arab citizens is surrendering to Netanyahu and giving up on Israel.”
He added: “We have responsibility. And we have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with Israel’s Arab citizens.
“A government that will serve all Israeli citizens. Now it takes courage. It takes leadership. It takes stopping the fear and starting to act. A government of change now!”