Israel heads to polls for pivotal election defined by security and democracy

Newswire, Rupavahini News and WhatNews (සිංහල) report that final results in Israel’s general election gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Newswire says Likud, Netanyahu’s party, won 27 seats and remained the largest faction. The opposition bloc led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats, according to Newswire and Rupavahini News.

Newswire reports that the 19 seats won together by the Arab party groupings Raam and the Joint List could make them pivotal in forming a government. No bloc reached the 61 seats required for a majority, Newswire says, leaving difficult coalition negotiations ahead and the possibility of another election if talks fail. Newswire says negotiations could last weeks.

Newswire reports that Netanyahu’s camp amplified allegations on Thursday that Arab-Israeli groups received foreign funding to influence the vote, including claims that Raam received money from Qatar for vote-buying. The Arab-majority lists and Qatar rejected the allegations, according to Newswire. Rupavahini News reports that Netanyahu’s opposition accused him of seeking to challenge the results’ legitimacy, while his party alleged that Arab parties had stolen the election victory.

Newswire reports that Raam leader Mansour Abbas denied wrongdoing and welcomed an investigation, while the Joint List also rejected the accusations. Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service is investigating suspected irregularities, according to Newswire, which says the service stressed that the inquiry was not meant to cast blame on an entire community. Newswire also reports that the acting director general of the Central Elections Committee said claims of widespread problems had no basis.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.