Arab parties emerge as kingmakers as Netanyahu bloc falls short
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc on Thursday piled pressure on Israeli Arab leaders over unproven accusations of foreign funding, in a push to neuter parties that made strong gains after an otherwise indecisive election.
Jerusalem reported that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc faced pressure from Israeli Arab leaders following unproven accusations of foreign funding during an election that saw strong gains by these parties. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir encouraged the immediate arrest of Arab party leaders. The election resulted in neither Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot securing a majority in the Knesset.
Israel and the United States were on the brink of war with Iran. Israeli Arabs, descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the country's creation in 1948, performed well in the election. The Arab parties together had a significant number of votes to form the opposition bloc, but Eisenkot was hesitant due to Netanyahu's warning that voting for the opposition would put Arabs in power.
The Central Election Commission's head, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, requested a Shin Bet security service investigation into the allegations of Qatar funding for key Arab party Raam. Netanyahu's Likud party claimed the allegations were a political earthquake, while other officials denied offering evidence to back these claims.
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