Netanyahu accuses foreign countries of interference. "There are serious suspicions"

"We must defend the country"

Benjamin Netanyahu claims that "foreign countries committed huge sums of money to influence the election results in Israel."

We must get to the whole truth, immediately and without concealment. Election integrity is the cornerstone of democracy. We must defend it and we must defend our country, Netanyahu said.

The Likud Party, led by Netanyahu, accuses Arab parties of electoral fraud. However, the chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, judge Noam Solberg, emphasized on Sunday that the elections were conducted correctly and their results reflect the will of voters. He also added that the ongoing investigation into suspicions of foreign interference does not call into question the vote result.

Netanyahu's proposal. "It's a matter of our survival"

Netanyahu also called for the creation of a "broad national government" under his leadership, open to all Zionist parties. According to him, a government dependent on Arab parties will not be able to fight radical Islam and will divide Israeli society.

Such a government will not only be unable to fight our enemies, but will also simply tear us apart from the inside. It's a matter of our survival, he said, speaking against the background of the Israeli flag.

Election results in Israel

Israeli President Yitzhak Hertzog received the official election results on Wednesday. Neither of the two main blocs achieved a majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, and the opposition groups around former army chief of staff Gadi Ayzenkot won 48. The remaining 19 went to Arab parties, with which none of the main blocs wants to form a coalition. This means difficult negotiations and the risk of another election.

As reported by the Israeli media a few days ago, the head of the Israeli left, Jair Golan, has started talks with Arab parties on cooperation in forming the future government. The chairman of the left-wing Democrat party is seeking to create a joint political bloc with the United List and the Raam party. These groups won a total of 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Together with the Democrats, they would have 27 seats in parliament.

The idea is controversial. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the participation of Arab politicians in a future coalition would be "concerning." Meanwhile, after the last elections, none of the main political blocs has a majority in the Knesset.