While the results of the vote in Israel have not yet been officially announced, Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to cast doubt on the validity of the electoral process.
In the final hours of the campaign, the prime minister issued strong warnings, signaling his stance after polling stations closed: “They are stealing the election.” The phrase, often used by struggling populists in various countries, was accompanied in this case by accusations against Arabs.
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According to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Noam Sohlberg, the Supreme Court judge who heads the election commission, called for an investigation into “possible foreign interference.” Likud and right-wing parties immediately used the request to challenge the possibility that Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main rival, could form a government with the support of Israeli Arab parties.
Sohlberg was briefed in a confidential meeting by David Zini, the head of Shin Bet, about reports of “foreign funding” aimed at influencing the results. He then instructed Zini, the settler appointed by Netanyahu, to investigate the matter. The suspicions concerned several predominantly Bedouin villages in the Negev desert, where residents may have been offered money to vote; the funds were allegedly coming from Qatar.
Qatar has categorically rejected the accusations, calling them “false and dangerous.”
