Gadi Eisenkot of Yashar, left, and Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud. (Photo credit by Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In theory, if the allegations were substantiated and found to have affected the results, a court could invalidate the election in whole or in part and order a new vote \u2013 though overturning an entire election is unprecedented in Israeli history.<\/p>\n
With counting complete, Netanyahu\u2019s bloc has 53 seats and the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot has 48, leaving neither with the 61 seats needed for a majority. The Arab parties got a combined 19 seats. One potential path for Eisenkot is to form a government with Arab parties or a minority government with their support from outside the coalition.<\/p>\n
In a letter to Shin Bet chief David Zini earlier in the week, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg had called for an investigation into suspected foreign interference.<\/p>\n
\u201cSerious suspicions have been brought to my attention regarding improper influence on the elections through foreign funding by outside actors operating against Israeli interests,\u201d Sohlberg wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot attest to the nature of these suspicions,\u201d he added, but said that because they involved foreign entities, \u201cthere is an obligation to investigate them thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sohlberg instructed Zini to \u201cuncover evidence to substantiate or refute the suspicions,\u201d requesting findings within a week, ahead of the deadline for filing election appeals.<\/p>\n
The letter did not identify Qatar or any Arab political party.<\/p>\n
Likud alleged that foreign actors had sought to bring about an \u201cIslamization of Israel\u201d and overthrow the right-wing government. It urged other Zionist parties not to cooperate with Ra\u2019am or the Joint List to replace the Knesset speaker or form a government reliant on Arab lawmakers.<\/p>\n
Ra\u2019am chairman Mansour Abbas denied any connection between his party and the suspected financing.<\/p>\n
\u201cRa\u2019am has no connection whatsoever to the affair in question or to any other such affairs,\u201d Abbas said in a statement, pledging full cooperation with law enforcement.<\/p>\n
He mocked Netanyahu, referring to him by the nickname Abu Yair (father of Yair), by invoking the allegations that Netanyahu\u2019s office has been infiltrated by Qatari agents and also by linking him to his son Yair, a provocateur who has been caught up in separate controversies. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo Abu Yair, who employs Qatari agents in his office, we have one message in response to the campaign of incitement and delegitimization he is waging against Arab citizens: There will be nothing, because there is nothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of the Likud party called the allegations the most serious in Israeli democratic history, while far-right Netanyahu ally National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected of involvement.<\/p>\n
Qatar rejected the allegations, calling them \u201cridiculous and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe categorically deny allegations that Qatar has interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome,\u201d Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Al Ansari accused Israeli politicians of attempting to use Qatar as a scapegoat for their electoral setbacks, pointing to what he described as contradictory accusations that Doha had bought Netanyahu\u2019s loyalty, financed Israel\u2019s left and now manipulated Arab voters.<\/p>\n
Experts on Israel\u2019s Arabs said the massive turnout was organic.<\/p>\n
Rami Zeedan, a professor of Israel studies and author of a book on Arab political participation in Israel, said he observed extensive grassroots mobilization during three months of fieldwork in Israel this summer. Many Arab voters viewed Netanyahu\u2019s government as particularly hostile to their community and were determined to replace it, believing that almost any alternative would treat them more equitably as Israeli citizens, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exceptional turnout was therefore not inexplicable,\u201d Zeedan told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. \u201cIt reflected a genuine and highly visible effort to remove Netanyahu and his government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zeedan said Likud and the Israeli right have long sought to delegitimize Arab political participation. He warned that the allegations could be used to cast doubt on the entire Arab vote or justify calls for a new election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe danger is that an investigation into specific financial or criminal allegations will be transformed into a sweeping claim that the Arab vote itself was fraudulent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen accused Netanyahu of attempting to delegitimize Arab voters and prevent the new Knesset from being sworn in on schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cNetanyahu was defeated at the ballot box. No incitement campaign will change the voters\u2019 decision,\u201d Jabareen wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Knesset member Ahmad Tibi, also from the Joint List, fired back after the prime minister questioned why he had visited Qatar four days before the election.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Al Jazeera in Doha that we very much want to bring you down,\u201d Tibi wrote on X, quoting Netanyahu\u2019s post. <\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, according to Israeli police, the only ones who received Qatari money are those in your own office. Lots of money,\u201d he added, referring to the investigation into allegations that Netanyahu\u2019s aides received payments to promote the Gulf state\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n
Anwar Mhajne, a political scientist originally from the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, said she was not surprised by the Arab voter turnout, saying she witnessed \u201csophisticated social media mobilization by journalists, influencers, activists,\u201d who made a compelling case for voting.<\/p>\n
Mhajne argued that Netanyahu was using the allegations to discourage opposition parties from partnering with Ra\u2019am and the Joint List.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe allegations risk achieving Netanyahu\u2019s objective before the investigation concludes: making cooperation with Arab representatives appear illegitimate and closing off a possible route to replacing his government,\u201d she said in an email to JTA.<\/p>\n
President Isaac Herzog, who decides which political leader will get the first shot at forming a coalition, called for the allegations to be thoroughly investigated but warned against casting suspicion on Arab voters collectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven at a moment like this, we must not tarnish an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy,\u201d Herzog said Thursday.<\/p>\n
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