From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 29, 2026
Balad chief accuses Netanyahu of laying groundwork to reject election results with ‘racist blood libel’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Balad chairman Sami Abou Shehadeh accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies of laying the groundwork to reject Tuesday’s election results through unsubstantiated allegations of foreign interference and electoral bribery aimed at boosting Arab voter turnout.
“Netanyahu and his partners are dangerous people who are constructing a narrative to justify refusing to accept the results of one of the most decisive elections this country has seen in decades,” says Abu Shehadeh, whose party is part of the Joint List, but was himself barred from running by the Central Elections Committee and will not enter the next Knesset.
“In any functioning democracy, those who lose an election take responsibility and go home. In Israel, the losing side fabricates a racist blood libel and calls on security agencies to use force to overturn the election results,” he says.
Warning against attempts to “steal the election or drag the country into another election on the basis of false and outrageous allegations,” Abu Shehadeh declares: “You lost. Go home.”
With Netanyahu’s bloc projected to win 53 seats, compared to 48 for the opposition parties and a record 19 for the Arab parties, unprecedented Arab turnout has helped deliver Netanyahu’s opponents a parliamentary majority, leaving him without a clear path to forming a government.
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