Israeli opposition accuses Netanyahu of trying to 'delegitimise' election

After his coalition lost its majority, Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud accused Israel’s Arab-led parties of “stealing” the election and raised suspicions of illegal funding from Qatar and Turkey. Qatar denied the allegations, while the Shin Bet said its investigation did not implicate an entire community, and the acting director general of the Central Elections Committee said there was no basis for claims of systematic election violations. The Joint List and Ra’am won a record 19 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, making them potential kingmakers between Netanyahu’s bloc, with 53 seats, and Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc, with 48. Netanyahu’s critics say the allegations are intended to make an alliance between Eisenkot and the Arab-led parties politically impossible, despite it being his bloc’s only current path to power.