Jerusalem, 03 November (H.S.): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, which emerged as the single largest party in the recent Knesset elections, has called on parties opposed to terrorism to join hands with Likud to form a broad national government.

In a social media post on Monday night, Netanyahu said the Israeli public did not want a government dependent on parties such as Ra’am and the Joint List, which he accused of supporting terrorism and rejecting the existence of the Jewish state.

“From day one, we have extended our hand towards forming a broad national government,” Netanyahu said.

He added that a clear majority of the Jewish electorate had chosen Likud as the largest party and had given him the opportunity to lead the next government as prime minister. Netanyahu said his party wanted to form a broad-based national government with its existing partners and any other party willing to join, provided it opposed terrorism.

“I am open to dialogue on this matter,” he said.

This was Netanyahu's first public call for the formation of a national government since last week's election. According to the results, Likud won 27 seats, while Netanyahu's bloc secured a combined 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, won 21 seats, taking the total strength of Eisenkot's bloc to 48. Arab parties secured 19 seats.

Among the Arab parties, Ra’am is a prominent political force representing mainly Arab citizens of Israel, including members of the Bedouin community. It is an Arab-Islamist political party.

Meanwhile, the official election results are scheduled to be presented to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday. Likud has sought a postponement of the certification process, but the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, rejected the request.

Likud has alleged that Arab parties “stole” votes in the election. The demand to delay certification came amid an ongoing investigation into suspected foreign interference in the October 27 polls.

Sohlberg, however, has maintained that even if the allegations are substantiated, they are not serious enough to change the election outcome. The Central Elections Committee has also stated that the election was conducted properly.

The allegations centre on claims that Qatar or other foreign entities may have secretly provided funds to increase voter turnout among Arab communities and influence the election. These claims have not yet been substantiated. Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, and foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, are expected to complete their investigations soon.

The Central Elections Committee is scheduled to formally approve the election results on Wednesday before submitting them to President Herzog. Likud is considering opposing the formal approval process.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar