Israeli officials say elections won't be undermined, and suspects in bribery case are freed
By casting doubt on the vote, Netanyahu appears to be trying to block any potential alliance in the opposition with the Arab parties that could force him from office.
Israeli police released two of three suspects in a bribery case linked to alleged voter bribery on Sunday, weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party's attempts to discredit the recent parliamentary elections. The head of Israel's elections committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, stated that even if claims of foreign interference are proven, they would not undermine the electoral process or results.
Likud has alleged that Arab-led parties "stole" the elections and accused them of bribery by providing suspects with envelopes of cash before the polls opened on October 27. Two of the suspects were released, with one placed under house arrest for eight days, while the third's detention was extended for two days. Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra am party, denounced the arrests as undemocratic and an attempt to influence the election results.
Netanyahu's bloc dropped to 53 seats, while the opposition, led by Gadi Eisenkot's bloc, won 48 seats and the remaining 19 seats were won by Arab-led parties. The final certification of the election results is due on Wednesday, after which President Isaac Herzog will meet with the elected parties to determine a new prime minister.
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