Mansour Abbas is chair of the United Arab List. A dentist by profession. He could be the king maker in this election
Israel on Thursday completed its vote count from the country’s national elections with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc securing 53 seats (27 of which went to his party Likud) and other parties securing 67 seats in the Knesset. With no party gaining an outright majority, weeks of jockeying to form a government are set to follow. Follow our liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
Israel’s election committee urges probe into alleged Qatari interference
Israel’s Central Elections Committee has called on the Shin Bet chief to investigate allegations of foreign interference in the Knesset elections, including suspected funding and bribery linked to Qatar.
Israel president says probe into Arab parties mustn’t ‘tarnish an entire community’
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said that allegations that Arab parties had received foreign funding must be “fully investigated” but warned against stigmatizing the entire community which turned out in record numbers.
“The evidence and the allegations (of fraud) must be fully investigated, and those responsible must be arrested and held accountable according to the full extent of the law,” Herzog said.
“But even at a moment like this, we must not tarnish an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy.”
Official results: Netanyahu’s bloc in the lead, but lacks majority
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp finished ahead of the opposition but remained well short of a parliamentary majority, according to final results from Israel’s general election released early Friday.
Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and far-right parties won 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, with his Likud party remaining the largest single faction with 27 seats. The opposition bloc, led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats.
The results from the Central Elections Committee also showed Arab parties – the Raam and the Joint List – securing 19 seats, positioning themselves as possible kingmakers.
Italy urges ‘immediate release’ of activists detained in West Bank
The Italian foreign ministry called Thursday for the “immediate release” of five Italian activists detained in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The activists were held near the village of Al-Lubban al-Gharbiyye, “where they were present alongside Palestinian farmers engaged in the olive harvest,” said a ministry statement.
“The Italian nationals were detained today during an operation that reportedly also involved other foreign citizens,” it said.
Rome is seeking “immediate clarification regarding the circumstances of the detention”, the ministry said, adding that the Italians were being held at a police station.
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