Netanyahu says Israel's election 'stolen' by Arab groups in claim straight from Trump playbook

Netanyahu says Israel's election 'stolen' by Arab groups in claim straight from Trump playbook The unsubstantiated allegations attack an Arab electorate that took just 19 seats in the 120-seat parliament — a small minority of the total vote. Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Arab-led parties of "stealing" Israel's elections in a move straight out of Donald Trump's playbook. In a statement, both he and his Likud party claimed the elections were stolen "through serious criminal offences of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters". The message, which was shared on his personal X account and Likud's, also accused the parties of "supporting terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state". The accusations echo claims repeatedly and extensively made by Donald Trump that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen. The Arab parties have not yet responded to the claims. They come as Netanyahu lost his governing majority following Tuesday's elections. Still, the coalition led by Netanyahu has more seats in the Knesset - Israel's Parliament - than the bloc led by his rival, Gadi Eisenkot. As most ballots have now been counted, it seems Likud and its allies could win 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament. Meanwhile, Eisenkot's Yashar party and three other opposition parties in the rival's bloc are set to get 48 seats. Arab-led parties could win an unprecedented 19 seats, meaning they could play a king-making role in the formation of a new government. Israel's Central Elections Committee stated that it had received Likud's complaint, with the claims now due to be examined. Netanyahu said Likud was sending "hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence regarding election theft in many Arab polling stations" to the police, the Central Elections Committee and the Shin Bet - Israel's security agency. The statement claimed the evidence included "thousands of envelopes with cash and Ra'am [political party] slips, threats and violence against polling station members, multiple voting behind the curtain, voting with double identities, discrepancies between the number of envelopes and the number of voters, the use of prohibited mobilisation software, and more". The statement reads: "We demand from the police and the Shin Bet a thorough investigation into the election theft by the Arab parties and the full prosecution of the criminals. We demand from the Central Elections Committee an immediate response to investigate these criminal offences that have severely damaged the integrity of the elections in Israel and the election results. "This is a serious blow to Israeli democracy and the voting rights of Israeli citizens. The law enforcement agencies must act with an iron fist and in an immediate manner."