JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc on Thursday piled pressure on Israeli Arab leaders over unproven accusations of foreign funding, in a push to neuter parties that could hold the key to forming a government after an inconclusive election.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for an investigation into allegations of fraud but cautioned against stigmatising the entire Arab Israeli community, who voted at unprecedented rates.

Israel was nearing the completion of ballot-counting from Tuesday’s election, in which neither Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot looked able to secure a majority in the parliament known as the Knesset.

The Netanyahu camp’s accusations, which a key Arab party has rejected, could bring uncertainty to the electoral process at a time when the threat of a return to war with Iran looms over the region.

Israel’s election saw soaring participation by Israeli Arabs, descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the country’s creation in 1948, as outrage boiled at calls by officials such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to treat their community much as Israel has dealt with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Following Netanyahu’s accusations of impropriety, Ben Gvir went so far as to encourage Israel to “immediately” order the arrests of Arab party leaders.

Raam party leader Mansour Abbas said he welcomed an investigation into claims of wrongdoing, adding that his party had “no connection” with the accusations.

The Arab parties together have enough votes to take the opposition bloc over the finish line, but Eisenkot has baulked after relentless attacks by Netanyahu, who warned his right-wing Jewish base that voting for the opposition would put Arabs in power.

‘Political earthquake’

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, a conservative who heads the Central Election Commission, requested an investigation by the Shin Bet security service into allegations that Raam received money from Qatar, the energy-rich Gulf powerbroker that has channels to Hamas.

“The Raamgate scandal is a political earthquake. Israel’s elections have been stolen!” Netanyahu’s Likud party said.

Government officials did not offer evidence to back the allegations, and left-wing candidate Yair Golan accused Netanyahu of attempting to stir controversy after failing to get a majority.

“Now he is trying to challenge the election results through an ugly delegitimisation campaign against the will of the people, and against the Arab public in particular.”