Lapid Accuses Netanyahu Allies of Attempting to Steal Election

By Staff, Agencies

“Israeli” opposition leader Yair Lapid has accused allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the security establishment of attempting to manipulate the Knesset election, urging opposition parties to put aside their differences and move swiftly to establish a government.

“What we are seeing tonight is an attempt to destroy ‘democracy’ and steal the election with the help of government loyalists inside the security establishment,” Lapid wrote on the US-based social media platform X late Tuesday.

He described the actions as a “direct threat to our ‘democracy’,” accusing individuals unwilling to accept an electoral defeat of undermining the democratic process and calling on state institutions to resist any such efforts.

Lapid’s remarks followed a report by “Israeli” public broadcaster “KAN” that Shin Bet chief David Zini had sought to question three Arab political party leaders as part of an investigation into foreign interference in the election.

However, law enforcement officials found no evidence warranting the questioning of the three politicians, according to the broadcaster.

“Israeli” Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also rejected Zini’s attempt to classify the investigation as a security matter, a designation that would have granted the agency broader investigative powers, the “Israeli” daily “Yedioth Ahronoth” reported.

Netanyahu’s Likud party subsequently accused the attorney general of obstructing the investigation.

The dispute comes ahead of the scheduled announcement of the final election results on Wednesday, amid a political deadlock that has left neither major political bloc with the parliamentary majority required to form a government.

According to the vote count, Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats, while the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats. The two Arab political lists collectively secured 19 seats.

Neither camp managed to reach the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

Meanwhile, “Israeli” President Isaac Herzog is expected to begin consultations with representatives of political parties on Wednesday as part of the process of forming a new government, according to the “Israeli” daily “Maariv.”