Netanyahu Flags Foreign Cash Meddling in Israel Vote, No Proof
(MENAFN) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Wednesday that there were “serious suspicions” of foreign states pouring huge sums into an effort to sway last week’s parliamentary election. He spoke just hours after the Central Elections Committee certified the results.
“There are serious suspicions of foreign countries intervening with enormous sums of money to influence the election results in the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement, an Israeli daily newspaper reported.
He named no countries and offered no evidence to back the claim.
Netanyahu said Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg had directed the Shin Bet domestic security agency to open an investigation, and he urged that any barriers to the probe be cleared away.
“We must get to the full truth, without a cover-up and without delay,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, the committee said it had found no irregularities suggesting the vote’s integrity had been compromised or the results changed. The Shin Bet separately told the committee it needed to dig further to determine the extent of the suspected foreign funding and influence operations.
Netanyahu also repeated his demand for a broad government under his leadership, open to every party in his bloc and to any Zionist party prepared to join.
He accused opposition leaders of trying to assemble a minority government dependent on “Islamist parties,” a bloc he claimed “support terrorism.”
The comments came as President Isaac Herzog opened consultations with parliamentary factions to decide who should be tasked with forming the next government.
Netanyahu’s bloc took 53 seats in the Oct. 27 election, against 48 for opposition parties aligned with Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot. The Joint List and Ra’am, also known as the United Arab List, captured 19 seats. Neither major bloc reached the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
In Wednesday’s consultations, Religious Zionism and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party recommended Netanyahu, while Yisrael Beiteinu backed Eisenkot, an Israeli daily reported. Ra’am opted to recommend Eisenkot ahead of its Thursday meeting with Herzog.
“There are serious suspicions of foreign countries intervening with enormous sums of money to influence the election results in the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement, an Israeli daily newspaper reported.
He named no countries and offered no evidence to back the claim.
Netanyahu said Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg had directed the Shin Bet domestic security agency to open an investigation, and he urged that any barriers to the probe be cleared away.
“We must get to the full truth, without a cover-up and without delay,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, the committee said it had found no irregularities suggesting the vote’s integrity had been compromised or the results changed. The Shin Bet separately told the committee it needed to dig further to determine the extent of the suspected foreign funding and influence operations.
Netanyahu also repeated his demand for a broad government under his leadership, open to every party in his bloc and to any Zionist party prepared to join.
He accused opposition leaders of trying to assemble a minority government dependent on “Islamist parties,” a bloc he claimed “support terrorism.”
The comments came as President Isaac Herzog opened consultations with parliamentary factions to decide who should be tasked with forming the next government.
Netanyahu’s bloc took 53 seats in the Oct. 27 election, against 48 for opposition parties aligned with Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot. The Joint List and Ra’am, also known as the United Arab List, captured 19 seats. Neither major bloc reached the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
In Wednesday’s consultations, Religious Zionism and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party recommended Netanyahu, while Yisrael Beiteinu backed Eisenkot, an Israeli daily reported. Ra’am opted to recommend Eisenkot ahead of its Thursday meeting with Herzog.
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