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Netanyahu's party claims Israel's election was stolen after his bloc loses majority

Police say they found no evidence for Likud's claims of widespread fraud. Final count: Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats, rival Gadi Eisenkot's 48, Arab-led parties 19.

27 news outlets reported this
Liberal11 outletsCenter8 outletsConservative8 outlets
UpdatedFirst published 4 min read
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— Final results came out early Friday: 53 seats for Netanyahu's bloc, 48 for Eisenkot's and 19 for Arab parties. Likud said the election was stolen, the elections committee chief asked the Shin Bet to probe foreign interference, Qatar denied it, police said they found no evidence supporting Likud's claims of widespread fraud, and certification is due next Wednesday.

Overview

Israelis voted on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in their first national election since the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. Final results, released early Friday, give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc 53 of the 120 seats. The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, won 48.

Arab-led parties won a record 19. A majority needs 61, so neither bloc can govern alone. The opposition and Arab parties together total 67, but most Jewish opposition parties have ruled out relying on the Arab parties.

Netanyahu's Likud party said the election was "stolen" by Arab parties through bribery, threats and fraud, and alleged foreign involvement. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who heads the Central Elections Committee, asked the security agency to investigate suspected foreign interference and report within a week. Israeli media named Qatar, which denied it.

Police say they found no evidence supporting Likud's claims of widespread fraud, and the committee's acting director says there is no basis for allegations of systematic violations. The Shin Bet said its probe does not cast suspicion on the Arab community as a whole. Eisenkot accused Likud of trying to delegitimize the result.

President Isaac Herzog said an entire community must not be tarnished. Results are due to be certified and sent to the president next Wednesday, and Netanyahu remains in charge for now.

Three sides of the story

Liberal11 outlets

ABC News and The Guardian's Friday briefing center Netanyahu's response to the result. ABC reports that Likud amplified allegations, made without evidence, that Arab-led parties took the election with possible foreign help. It lays out the sequence: Justice Sohlberg's letter to the Shin Bet, Qatar's denial, the election committee's statement that claims of systematic violations are baseless, and the Shin Bet's assurance that its probe does not single out a whole community.

It quotes Eisenkot, Yair Golan of the Democrats, the Joint List, Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas and President Herzog. The Guardian briefing says the opposition can reach a majority only by allying with Palestinian Israeli parties, which it presents as a dilemma for the country. It describes the campaign as "mired in racism," calls Netanyahu's claims a false narrative, and notes that authorities say there is no evidence of election fraud.

It also reports a robocall, purporting to come from Netanyahu, that falsely claimed Palestinian party leaders were caught with cash. CBS News, in a Tuesday update, reports exit polls pointing to a stalemate and a historic Arab showing, plus a US military estimate of the Iran war's cost. HuffPost, carrying an AP report from Wednesday, covers record turnout and Eisenkot's conditions for partnering with Arab parties.

Center8 outlets

Axios, the BBC, Straight Arrow News and the Christian Science Monitor report the dispute alongside the count. Axios says Netanyahu is trying to discredit the results and that the opposition fears he wants to block certification. It says Likud's claim rested on the arrest of three Ra'am activists suspected of paying a small number of voters, and that police found no evidence for it.

Axios also gives a timeline of the Shin Bet director's briefings, and quotes Likud calling the leaked letter "an earthquake" and Eisenkot describing an "illegitimate influence campaign." The BBC reports the Shin Bet is examining whether Qatar and Turkey funded Arab parties, gives Qatar's denial and the Joint List's rejection, and lays out three routes to a government. Straight Arrow News leads with police finding no evidence, lists Likud's allegations, including cash envelopes and threats against polling workers, and says Likud reported submitting hundreds of testimonies.

The Christian Science Monitor, writing Wednesday, outlines possible scenarios and quotes Likud's charge of bribery and fraud.

Conservative8 outlets

Fox News reports the count and the Qatar angle. It says 93.8% of ballots were counted, putting the opposition and Arab parties together at 67 seats, and cites the Israel Democracy Institute for Arab turnout of about 80%. It attributes the Qatar identification to Channel 12, notes the judge's letter did not name a country, and says the funding allegations have not been independently substantiated.

Fox quotes Qatari spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari saying that if the claims were believed, "Qatar would apparently own all of Israel," and acting committee director Dean Livne saying there is no basis for allegations of systematic violations. It adds that the Shin Bet said its intelligence did not come from any political party. Breitbart News reports Trump saying Netanyahu is in "pretty good shape" and that he would consider helping broker a unity government, while a US official told the Times of Israel no decision has been made.

The Daily Caller cites the Times of Israel for Likud's "stolen" statement and reviews candidates' Iran positions and US-Israel ties. The Washington Examiner profiles the Arab parties' rise.

Where outlets disagree
All sources: 118 articles from 27 outlets

Liberal (59)

Center (29)

Conservative (30)

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Knesset

Israel's parliament: 120 seats shared out in proportion to each party's votes, so no party has ever had a majority alone. A government needs 61 members behind it, which is why several parties govern together.

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Shin Bet

Israel's domestic security service, also called Shabak, in charge of counterterrorism and counterintelligence at home and in the occupied territories. The Mossad works abroad.

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