Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party on Thursday amplified unsubstantiated allegations that Arab-led parties had 'stolen' the election.
asserted
parties → amplify → election
He also warned of 'Israel's Islamisation' as final results showed his bloc had lost its majority in parliament.
asserted
bloc → warn → parliament
The opposition accused Mr Netanyahu of demonising the Arab population after a historic showing by Arab-led parties in an attempt to delegitimise the election.
asserted
opposition → accuse → election
If the rest of the opposition teams up with Arab parties, a rare and politically risky move, they could potentially form a majority government in parliament, the Knesset.
uncertain
they → team → parliament
Results released by election officials early Friday showed Mr Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats in the 120-member assembly, well below the 68 seats it had controlled at its peak in the previous parliament.
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it → release → parliament
His main opposition won 48 seats and Arab-led parties secured the other 19.
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parties → win → 19
The count is complete but the results still need to be certified and submitted to the country's president next Wednesday.
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results → need → president
Mr Netanyahu's party, Likud, has been spreading claims of malfeasance by Arab-led parties since exit polls indicated the prime minister had suffered a setback in Tuesday's vote.
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minister → spread → vote
Netanyahu's party, Likud, has been spreading claims of malfeasance by Arab-led parties since exit polls indicated the prime minister had suffered a setback
A protest organized by Partnership for Peace calls for Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot to form an alliance with Israel's Arab parties
uncertain
Eisenkot → spread → parties
Supporters applaud Arab-led Joint List political alliance candidates in northern Israel
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Supporters → applaud → Israel
But it ramped up the rhetoric after the head of Israel's election committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, said that 'serious suspicions' of foreign interference had been brought before him.
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suspicions → ramp → him
In a letter to the Shin Bet security agency, Mr Sohlberg said he could not verify the claims.
uncertain
he → say → claims
But given their serious nature, he asked the agency to investigate.
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he → give → agency
Mr Netanyahu's party responded with an inflammatory statement: 'The elections in Israel have been stolen!' it said, claiming that the alleged election interference was 'aimed at facilitating a foreign takeover of the Knesset, the Islamisation of Israel and toppling of the right wing government'.
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interference → respond → government
Israeli media reported that members of Mr Netanyahu's party were accusing Qatar – a country that many Israelis view as a patron of Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group.
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Israelis → report → Hamas
Qatar issued a quick denial, calling the allegations 'ridiculous and dangerous'.
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Qatar → issue → allegations
As it announced its results early Friday, the election commission said the investigation was based on classified intelligence.
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investigation → announce → intelligence
In a video statement, the commission's acting director general, Dean Livne, did not elaborate, but warned that reports about the probe had been 'entirely unfounded'.
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reports → act → probe
'It does not affect the final results that will be submitted to the president, nor does it concern any particular sector of the population,' he said.
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he → affect → population
Mr Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, said Likud was trying to delegitimise the results.
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Likud → say → results
'They are doing this because they lost,' he said.
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he → do → this
Eisenkot ridiculed the accusation of foreign interference with a tongue-in-cheek statement, saying: 'I welcome the fact that Netanyahu is finally condemning Qatari involvement in the State of Israel.'
Mr Netanyahu has long faced accusations that former top aides of his accepted money from Qatar.
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aides → ridicule → Qatar
By casting doubt on the vote, Netanyahu appeared to be positioning himself to block any potential alliance between his opponents and the Arab parties.
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Netanyahu → cast → opponents
Mr Netanyahu has suggested that it would be treasonous for Eisenkot to join with Arab parties, who could potentially give Eisenkot the backing he needs to oust Mr Netanyahu.
uncertain
he → suggest → Netanyahu
The Shin Bet, seeking to calm tensions, said its investigation was not meant to 'cast aspersions' on an entire section of the population that 'exercised its right to vote in a democratic and lawful manner'.
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that → seek → manner
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot waves an Israeli flag as he addresses his supporters
Demonstrators stage a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for a new administration and enhanced Jewish-Arab political cooperation
A woman passes by a ripped banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump
The elections committee also sounded a note of caution in a letter written to a concerned member of parliament.
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committee → wave → parliament
It said that even though an investigation was taking place, 'allegations of systematic violations of electoral integrity are baseless'.
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allegations → say → integrity
The committee wants findings from the Shin Bet within a week.
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committee → want → week
Even ahead of the vote, Netanyahu and Likud painted the Arab-led parties as a danger to Israel, which critics called an attempt to further marginalize Arab citizens.
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critics → paint → citizens
Arab citizens of Palestinian descent make up 20 per cent of the population but are often viewed with suspicion because of their sympathies with other Palestinians.
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citizens → make → Palestinians
Those campaign attacks, along with anger over the divisive Netanyahu and his far-Right government, brought outraged Arabs to the polls like never before.
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attacks → bring → polls
On Thursday, Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, accused Mr Netanyahu of 'attempting to undermine the election results through an ugly delegitimization campaign directed against the will of the public - and against the Arab public in particular'.
asserted
Golan → accuse → public
'Netanyahu is working to steal the election,' the Arab-led Joint List party asserted Thursday.
asserted
party → work → election
The head of the Arab-led Ra'am party, Mansour Abbas, welcomed the investigation into election interference and said his party had nothing to do with the case, while accusing Mr Netanyahu of a campaign of incitement.
asserted
party → lead → incitement
President Isaac Herzog called it a 'sensitive moment' and called for a full investigation.
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Herzog → call → investigation
He warned that 'we must not tarnish an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy'.
asserted
that → warn → democracy
The developments amplified the difficult decisions for the weeks ahead.
asserted
developments → amplify → weeks
Those include whether some Jewish and Arab parties would team up in a historic alliance, or whether some parties that campaigned on ousting Mr Netanyahu would toss that aside and join forces with him.
asserted
that → include → him
While the race for a 61-seat majority needed to control the 120-seat Knesset plays out, Mr Netanyahu remains in charge.
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Netanyahu → need → charge
If Mr Netanyahu loses office, that would set off a cascade of events that critics say he has desperately sought to avoid.
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he → lose → that
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
