Eisenkot says Netanyahu’s bid to discredit Israeli election results has ‘failed’

By Mohammed Al Ragawi and Rania Abushamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel’s Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot said Sunday that efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party to discredit the results of last week’s parliamentary elections and steer the country toward another election had “failed.”

In a post on the US social media platform X, Eisenkot described the attempt as “despicable and malicious.”

“The despicable and malicious attempt to disown the election results, challenge the public’s will, smear an entire community and drag Israel into new elections has failed,” Eisenkot wrote.

“Only someone who realizes he has lost would be prepared to wage such a crude delegitimization campaign, even at the cost of further damaging public trust in state institutions,” he added.

Eisenkot said the results of the elections for the 26th Knesset were “firm and clear,” welcoming remarks by Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg affirming the integrity of the vote.

“Ignore the background noise and the political maneuvers that change every hour. The people are sovereign, and they have spoken: The government of failure has no majority and has lost the election,” he said.

Netanyahu and Likud have alleged Qatari interference through funding intended to increase turnout among Arab voters and influence the results.

Likud claimed to possess recordings and other materials documenting bribes, including cash and fuel vouchers offered in exchange for votes, describing the alleged activity as “election theft.”

The party has not publicly presented evidence establishing Qatari interference or widespread electoral fraud.

Qatar rejected the accusations Thursday, calling them a “new disinformation campaign” aimed at drawing it into Israel’s internal political disputes.

United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas also denied allegations of attempts to unlawfully influence the election through foreign funding.

Earlier Sunday, Sohlberg said that voting had proceeded properly and that the results reflected the electorate’s will.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted him as saying that claims that the available material and evidence could cast doubt on the election results as a whole were “incorrect.”

He said potential irregularities and suspicions were being examined, stressing that even if substantiated, they would not undermine the overall integrity of the election or its results.

Sohlberg spoke in the presence of Shin Bet chief David Zini and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

With all votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset compared with 48 for the opposition camp led by Eisenkot and 19 for Arab parties. Neither main bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a governing majority.

Final turnout stood at 77.9%, the highest since 1999, according to the elections committee.

The results leave Israel facing a political impasse, with the government’s formation dependent on agreements between blocs and opposition parties divided over the possibility of relying on Arab parties’ support.

The official results are due to be submitted to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, ahead of consultations with parties represented in the Knesset on whom to task with forming a government.

Rania R.a. Abushamala