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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the detention of leaders of the parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded they be questioned by the Shin Bet internal security service.

The calls followed media reports of allegations that foreign funds were transferred to the Joint List and the Raam party to interfere in the Oct. 27 Tuesday parliamentary election, in which the two parties won a combined 19 seats.

Arab parties hold the balance in the Knesset

The Joint List, led by Yusuf Cabirin, and the United Arab List (Raam party) of Mansur Abbas together took 19 seats in the Oct. 27 Tuesday parliamentary election, putting the parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel in a decisive position in the Knesset.

The result left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing bloc with 53 seats and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot with 48, meaning neither side can form a government on its own.

Election committee asked Shin Bet to examine funding claims

Reports in the press alleged that money was sent from abroad to the Joint List and the Raam party in order to influence the vote in Israel.

Noam Solberg, who chairs Israel's Central Elections Committee, was reported to have asked David Zini, the director of the Shin Bet internal security service, to investigate the claims.

Cabinet ministers call for arrests and questioning

Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, asked Shin Bet to detain the leaders of the Joint List and Raam party. Writing on the US-based social media platform X, Ben-Gvir called for an order to be issued to take the Arab party leaders into custody starting that morning.

Far-right Finance Minister Smotrich posted on the same platform: "The leaders of the Arab parties must be questioned by Shin Bet today."

Netanyahu repeats claim that the election was stolen

Netanyahu repeated the claim that the Joint List and Raam party stole the election, even after Israel police said they had found no basis for it. Writing on X on behalf of the Likud party he leads, Netanyahu said no Zionist party would be allowed to cooperate with Raam and the Joint List or to let those parties' votes change the speaker of the Knesset.

He urged police and Shin Bet to act on allegations that the Arab parties received funding from abroad. Likud had argued that the election was stolen by the Arab parties after turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel was high.

Likud alleged irregularities and claimed that ballots were stolen at a large number of polling stations in areas with a dense Palestinian population, asserting that hundreds of statements and pieces of evidence had been submitted to police, the Shin Bet and the Central Elections Committee. In a written statement yesterday, Israel police said they had found no intelligence data supporting Likud's claim that the Arab parties stole the election.

Key takeaways

• The Joint List and Raam party won a combined 19 seats on Oct. 27 Tuesday, giving them a decisive role in the Knesset.
• Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc 48, so neither can govern alone.
• Ben-Gvir asked Shin Bet to detain the Arab party leaders and Smotrich demanded they be questioned.
• Israel police said yesterday they found no intelligence evidence for Likud's claim that the election was stolen.