Eisenkot warns against using election interference claims to delay Knesset swearing-in
Gadi Eisenkot, Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival, urged that Israel protect the integrity of its election while preventing political actors from exploiting allegations to delay the next Knesset. Police have dismissed Likud's claim that the vote was stolen.
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party and the main rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned political opponents against exploiting allegations of foreign interference in Israel's election to delay the swearing-in of the next Knesset. His remarks, reported by the Israeli news website Ynet, came as Netanyahu's Likud party and its allies pressed claims that the result had been compromised.
Eisenkot said Israel must safeguard the integrity of its elections against any attempt at interference, spin and manipulation, and that every complaint should be examined thoroughly. At the same time, he argued, political actors must not be allowed to use the situation to affect the date on which the 26th Knesset is sworn in. His position placed him between two concerns: protecting the credibility of the vote and preventing the dispute from becoming a tool for delaying the formation of a new government.
The dispute centres on Netanyahu's accusation that Arab-Israeli parties had « stolen » the election after a strong performance that could make them kingmakers in coalition negotiations. Netanyahu's camp has built its case around the idea that the outcome was distorted, a claim that has drawn sharp reaction from opponents who see it as an attempt to undermine the result before the final tally is complete. Israeli police have dismissed the claim that the election was stolen by parties representing Palestinians, even as the count of absentee ballots continued. Police have so far allowed the official counting process to proceed, while the political argument over the legitimacy of the outcome has continued in the media and in party statements.
Critics have accused Netanyahu of running an « ugly delegitimisation campaign » against Arab parties, a charge that goes to the heart of the coalition arithmetic now facing Israel. A strong showing by these parties could give them a decisive role in deciding who forms the next government, which is why their electoral success has become the focal point of the post-vote confrontation. The accusation frames the dispute not only as a question about ballots but about whether Arab-Israeli parties will be treated as legitimate partners in a governing majority.
Coalition talks are now expected to dominate the coming period. Analysts have framed Israel's choice as one between Netanyahu remaining in power and a coalition backed by Palestinian-representing parties, a binary that underlines how much rides on the final count and on the negotiations that follow. The stakes extend beyond domestic politics, with US President Donald Trump saying he is watching the coalition talks closely. Trump's attention adds an external dimension to a process that will shape the composition of the next Knesset and, by extension, the direction of Israeli government policy.
For Eisenkot, the central task is to keep the dispute over fraud claims from becoming a procedural obstacle. By insisting that every complaint be examined thoroughly, he has positioned himself as a defender of electoral process, while signalling that he will not accept the timetable for the 26th Knesset being held hostage to contested allegations. Whether that position holds will depend on how quickly the absentee ballot count concludes and whether the police findings are accepted by the parties now disputing the result.
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