Israel Certifies Election Results as Palestinian-Led Parties Win Record 19 Seats
Israel has officially certified the results of its parliamentary election, after the election commission rejected claims of fraud. Palestinian-led parties won a record 19 seats in the vote, according to Al Jazeera.
The election, held on October 27, was for the 26th Knesset, the national parliament, and involved more than 7.3 million voters. The 19 seats went to two parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel: the Joint List, which won 11, and the United Arab List, known as Ra'am, which won 8, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. The Joint List includes Ta'al, led by Ahmad Tibi, and Balad, whose chairman is Sami Abu Shehadeh.
The final results confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc, the group of parties that backs him, had lost its majority in parliament, meaning it no longer holds more than half of the seats, the Associated Press reported. Before the vote, the bloc had ruled out forming a coalition with the Arab parties, Reuters reported. After the election, the two Arab-led parties said they want to work with opposition factions, the New York Times reported.
On election night, the Likud Party, Netanyahu's party, claimed that the election "was stolen" by Arab parties, but did not release evidence to support the claim. The election commission later rejected fraud claims, and the results were certified.
Voting also drew scrutiny. Right-wing parties sent activists to polling stations, a move widely interpreted as intimidation. Israeli police arrested several Ra'am supporters on election day on suspicion of vote-buying, meaning offering money or other benefits in exchange for votes. Many of those suspects were released quickly after a judge found that the suspicions had weakened.
Al Jazeera reported that the record result was followed by aggressive police raids, arbitrary arrests and targeted interrogations. On Tuesday night, police and the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security service, arrested Abd Abu Shahadeh, a journalist and political activist.
