Netanyahu Alleges Voter Fraud Behind Arab Parties’ Gains; Arab Leaders Accuse Him of Incitement

Jerusalem, Israel. On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed, offering no evidence, that fraud contributed to the unprecedented performance of Arab parties in this week’s election. Arab leaders rejected the claim and accused the prime minister of incitement.

Escalating rhetoric

The accusation marks a sharpening of anti-Arab rhetoric by Netanyahu and his far-right allies. Strong turnout among Arab voters on Tuesday left neither Netanyahu nor his main Jewish opponents with an easy route to forming a government.

Related: Likud Accuses Arab Parties of Election Theft as Count Shows Record Seats for Them

RelatedLikud Accuses Arab Parties of Election Theft as Count Shows Record Seats for Them

Israeli election officials said on Thursday that an investigation into the fraud allegations was under way. They added that the integrity of the vote was not “systematically compromised.”

Analysts and critics argue that the stepped-up attacks on Arab parties may be meant to make Netanyahu’s main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, feel unable to even consider a minority government backed by Arab parties, which could remove Netanyahu from power. Eytan Gilboa, a professor of politics at Reichman University, said Netanyahu’s aim is “delegitimizing any Arab-Jewish cooperation”.

State of the count

Election officials were expected to complete the tally later on Thursday. The closely contested race has produced no clear winner, and weeks of drawn-out talks over forming a government are likely.

With almost 93% of ballots counted, Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious bloc had a slight edge in seats over a bloc of right-wing and centre-left parties headed by Eisenkot. Neither side reached the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.

Parties representing Israel’s Arab minority, which makes up 21% of the population, were projected to win an unprecedented 19 seats. That left Eisenkot’s bloc on 48 seats against 53 for Netanyahu’s camp, with no realistic route to power without broad Arab support. Eisenkot has so far ruled out that option.

Eisenkot’s camp could alternatively try to form a minority government that relies on outside backing from Arab parties without bringing them into the governing coalition.

Arab leaders respond

Ahmad Tibi, a leader of the Arab Joint List party, said Netanyahu was running an orchestrated and toxic campaign designed to undermine the election results.