Joint List calls Likud’s Qatari and Turkish election interference claims a ‘racist blood libel’

Likud called the affair an “earthquake,” declaring that Qatar and Turkey “stole the elections in Israel!”

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Joint List accused Likud of seeking to overturn Tuesday’s election results through racist incitement against Arab citizens, following allegations of foreign interference and the announcement of a Shin Bet investigation.

Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the party’s Balad faction, said the accusations against Arab political parties amounted to a “blood libel” intended to discredit the election outcome.

Abu Shehadeh also accused the right of attempting to suppress Arab voter turnout, alleging that hundreds of armed far-right activists descended on polling stations in Arab communities on Election Day.

He said the latest allegations were part of a broader campaign that began with efforts to disqualify Arab electoral lists.

“The losing side concocts a racist ‘blood libel’ and calls upon the security establishment to use force to overturn the election results,” he said.

The allegations emerged against the backdrop of a sharp rise in Arab voter participation, with the Joint List and Ra’am projected to secure a combined 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset with 91 percent of the votes counted.

The reactions followed a letter sent Thursday morning by Central Elections Committee Chairman and Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg to Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief David Zini, calling for an investigation into suspicions of foreign funding and election bribery.

“Serious suspicions have been brought before me of improper influence on the elections through foreign funding from foreign entities operating against Israeli interests,” Sohlberg wrote.

Sohlberg acknowledged that he could not independently assess the allegations but said the possibility of foreign involvement warranted an investigation.

Likud called the affair an “earthquake,” declaring that Qatar and Turkey “stole the elections in Israel!”

The party characterized the suspected activity as an attack on democracy intended to bring foreign control of the Knesset, promote the Islamization of Israel, end right-wing rule, and force an Israeli withdrawal and military defeat on multiple fronts.

The party did not provide any evidence of Qatari or Turkish involvement.

Arab social media users, meanwhile, criticized the allegations and accused right-wing politicians of seeking to undermine the legitimacy of Arab political participation.

Some drew a comparison between the reported rapid deployment of the Shin Bet to examine suspected election interference and what they described as years of inadequate action against crime in Arab communities.

Others dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. Israeli political leaders also clashed over the development.

“Congratulations on Netanyahu finally condemning Qatari involvement in the State of Israel. Yashar! party leader Gadi Eisenkot said.

“Foreign involvement in the State of Israel is unacceptable and extremely serious, especially when it comes to a country that finances and supports the Hamas organization. It is serious when it happens in the Prime Minister’s Office and it is serious if it happens during the election campaign.”