Benjamin Netanyahu alleged on Thursday, without providing evidence, that record gains by Arab parties in Israel's election this week were driven in part by voter fraud, a charge Arab leaders rejected as incitement. Election officials said on Thursday that there was a probe into fraud allegations, but that the election's integrity had not been systematically compromised. Police said at least seven people had been arrested since Tuesday in Israel's south on suspicion of voter fraud, and the head of the Central Election Committee said he had asked the Shin Bet to investigate suspicions of intervention by unidentified foreign players.

A parliament with no majority

With nearly 93% of votes counted, Netanyahu's nationalist-religious bloc held 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, against 48 for the bloc led by his rival Gadi Eisenkot, while parties representing Israel's Arab minority were projected to win an unprecedented 19 seats. Neither camp reaches the 61 seats needed for a majority, which leaves Eisenkot's bloc with no realistic path to power without broad Arab backing, an option he has so far ruled out, though a minority government supported from outside remains a possibility discussed in the reporting.

Accusations and denials

Ahmad Tibi of the Joint List described the fraud campaign as orchestrated and toxic, saying it was aimed at preventing Eisenkot from forming a government reliant on outside support from Arab parties. Mansour Abbas, head of Ra'am, said his party was not involved in the reported suspicious conduct and urged a full investigation. President Isaac Herzog said the allegations must be investigated, but added that an entire community that sought to take part in democracy must not be tarnished. Final certified results were still awaited.

Sources: Reuters, JNS via Bytes Europe.