Netanyahu’s party claims election ‘stolen’ as results show him losing majority

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party has accused Arab-led parties of "stealing" the election, potentially with foreign assistance, as final results showed his bloc had fallen below the required majority in parliament. Opposition parties, in response, suggested Netanyahu was targeting the Arab population in an attempt to discredit the election.

If the opposition teams up with Arab parties, they may form a majority government in the Knesset. The election results, released by officials on Thursday, showed Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats, while his main opposition won 48 seats and Arab-led parties secured 19. Netanyahu's Likud party has alleged wrongdoing by Arab-led parties since exit polls indicated a setback for the prime minister.

The election commission, based on classified intelligence, stated that the investigation into allegations of foreign interference was based on serious suspicions, but emphasized that the claims were baseless. Netanyahu's rivals accused him of attempting to delegitimize the election results and accused him of stirring up tensions against the Arab population.