Netanyahu bloc targets Arab parties with fraud claims after election — SkimNews
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- Netanyahu's bloc pressured Arab party leaders with unproven claims of foreign funding from Qatar, aiming to delegitimize their role in government formation after the election
- Raam party leader Mansour Abbas welcomed an investigation into the allegations, stating his party had no connection to the accusations of Qatari financing
- Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg requested a Shin Bet probe into claims that Raam received money from Qatar, escalating the 'Raamgate' controversy
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for an investigation into election fraud but warned against stigmatizing the Arab Israeli community amid record voter turnout
- Arab parties secured an unprecedented 19 seats, positioning them as potential kingmakers as neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot reached the 61-seat threshold
- Gadi Eisenkot ruled out joining a unity government despite pressure, while pledging vigilance against election interference and rejecting political exploitation of security concerns
Why it matters: With Arab parties holding 19 seats, they now have outsized influence in a hung Knesset, but Netanyahu’s campaign to paint them as foreign-backed risks undermining democratic legitimacy and delaying government formation at a time of regional tension.
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