Israel | Dispute over Netanyahu's election fraud allegations

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during the Israeli parliamentary elections in front of a screen showing voter turnout in their community Photo: dpa/Ohad Zwigenberg Jerusalem. On the day of the parliamentary election in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Arab Raam Party made each other accusations of fraud. Netanyahu accused the party on Tuesday of trying to "steal" the election. Raam leader Mansur Abbas, in turn, accused the Prime Minister of using such “lies” to create sentiment in his favor. 

The trigger was reports about three high-ranking Raam representatives who, according to Netanyahu, were arrested in the south of the country with envelopes full of cash. Election authorities said police had caught people who allegedly wanted to bribe voters. However, these were picked up near their homes and not at polling stations. The incident is being investigated. "There are no similar incidents of this type nationwide, this was an isolated case," emphasized the Central Election Commission.

"Benjamin Netanyahu is lying and inciting against the United Arab List," said its chairman Abbas in a video message. The head of government is using the party as a means "to mobilize right-wing voters and drive them to the polls." The Arab party Raam is relatively small. However, if the election results are as close as expected, she could play a crucial role in forming an opposition-led coalition. Netanyahu repeatedly attacked Israeli Arab parties during the election campaign and stoked fears of a Palestinian state.

In Israel, people will elect a new parliament on Tuesday for the first time since the Hamas attack on the country on October 7, 2023. The vote is seen as a directional choice in the heavily divided country. A head-to-head race is expected between the right-wing camp of long-time Prime Minister Netanyahu and the bloc of center-right opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot.

There was a huge rush after the polls opened in the morning. Netanyahu called on Israelis to vote "right" on Tuesday as he cast his vote in Jerusalem. Netanyahu's Likud party has requested an extension to the opening hours of polling stations. "We have submitted a request to extend the times for voting," the conservative party said on Tuesday on the Telegram online service. The Netanyahu party also tried to mobilize its voters: “Only vote for Likud,” she wrote on Telegram.

The polling stations actually close at 10 p.m. (local time, 9 p.m. CET), after which the first projections are expected. At the halfway point of election day at 2 p.m. local time, a record turnout of 44.9 percent was registered. AFP/nd

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