Israel police reject Likud's 'election theft' claims against Arab parties, say no evidence found

Israeli police on Thursday rejected allegations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party that Arab parties had "stolen" the general election held on Tuesday. Police said there was no solid investigation or criminal evidence to support Likud's claims. The development comes while votes are still being counted and government formation remains uncertain, and is seen as a major moral and political setback for Netanyahu's camp.

The election was closely fought and no bloc won a clear majority. Likud had questioned the transparency of the vote itself, claiming it had submitted statements from hundreds of witnesses and complaints to the police. Police and the Central Elections Committee (CEC) said the allegations had no substance and that the election process was fair.

In a special statement, police said there had been complaints on polling day about a few minor and unusual incidents related to the fairness of the vote, but their number was far lower than in previous elections. Police said they had received no investigation or intelligence supporting Likud's claims of large-scale irregularities and "vote theft".

Officials of the CEC also dismissed Likud's claims. The CEC said it was not right to make such serious allegations when voter turnout had been high. It said it had followed standard inquiry procedures and that no reason had so far emerged to challenge the basic legitimacy of the election.

Earlier, Netanyahu and Likud had expressed strong anger over the results and attacked the Arab parties directly. Likud's official statement said: "Israel's elections have been hijacked by the Arab parties. These parties support terrorism and want to destroy the existence of the Jewish nation. They have committed serious crimes such as bribery, intimidation, violence, forgery of ballot papers and use of illegal software to organise voters."

Netanyahu's party had demanded a thorough investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence agency, the police and the elections commission. After the police findings contradicted the claims, opposition parties are sharply criticising Netanyahu's strategy.

The Arab community voted in record numbers this time. With more than 91 per cent of the count completed, the alliance of Arab parties appeared set to win 19 seats. In the last election the Arab parties had been limited to 10 seats, so the performance is being called historic.

According to current figures, in the 129-member Knesset (parliament), the right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu has won 53 seats, while the main opposition bloc has won 48. A majority of 61 seats is needed to form a government. Likud has emerged as the largest party but is still short of a majority by nine seats. The Arab parties, with 19 seats, have thus become "kingmakers". However, both Netanyahu and the opposition have ruled out a direct alliance with the Arab parties to form a government, so Israel appears headed for another political deadlock.