Israel election commission rejects Netanyahu charges of fraud

TEL AVIV
Israeli electoral authorities on Wednesday rejected allegations promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fraud by Arab parties, who could hold the key to removing him from power after a divisive vote.
President Isaac Herzog will at noon (1000 GMT) officially receive the results of the October 27 election as he decides whether to give Netanyahu or his rival Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government, with neither commanding enough votes alone.
The Central Elections Committee said it had conducted an audit of 9,069 polling stations following complaints and was confident that the announced results “accurately reflect the will of the voters”.
“All complaints submitted by political factions have been reviewed and there were no findings indicating harm to the integrity of the election,” it said in a statement.
Netanyahu has repeatedly alleged fraud by Arab-majority parties, pointing to the arrests of several people with envelopes of cash on election day and later claiming lawmakers received money from Qatar — allegations that have been levelled at his own aides in the past.
Late on Tuesday, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said she would not question anyone without evidence after reports that the head of the domestic security service Shin Bet, a Netanyahu ally, had asked to interrogate Arab parties.
Netanyahu’s Likud party lashed out at her, saying that she was trying to “obstruct the investigation and to cover up this serious case of manipulation of the electoral process by foreign actors”. Eisenkot, a former military chief trying to unite centrists and the centre-right and turn the page on Netanyahu’s long, polarising reign, accused Likud of attempting a “pogrom against democracy”.
He had earlier warned Netanyahu against launching a new war with his close ally US President Donald Trump against Iran, which could help the Israeli prime minister push for a unity government or to run out the clock until new elections.