Netanyahu seems to claim the largest party, vows to end Iran’s threat “once and for all” and rules out a government resting on Arab parties

Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage at Likud’s election headquarters in Jerusalem soon after 3 a.m. local time on Oct. 28, as exit polls showed neither main bloc with a Knesset majority, according to The National and JFeed (The National; JFeed). He did not declare victory. All Israel News reports that he called for a strong right-wing government instead (All Israel News).

Netanyahu opened with the war. “We eliminated Deif, Haniyeh, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Khamenei,” he said, listing Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders, in the Times of Israel translation. “Iran is weaker than ever, Israel is stronger than ever.” He added that as long as Iran’s “fanatical regime” exists, “it will try again to annihilate us,” and that “together with our wonderful friend President Trump,” Israel could “remove this threat once and for all” (TOI transcript via Times Union). Near the end he repeated the idea, calling it “a historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and “this sacred mission” (transcript; Ynet).

“Friends, this is only the beginning. Only the beginning,” he said, before noting that final results would come “over the next day or two” (transcript). He said Likud stood as the largest party and that pre-election polls showing it at 18 or 19 seats came from “propaganda channels” that “knew the whole time that it was a lie” (transcript). The desk could not check that claim about the pollsters’ intent.

He then turned to Arab-led parties. “It is simply forbidden to endanger Israel and form a government that rests on anti-Zionist Arab parties,” he said, describing them as parties “that see Hamas as a charitable organization, that call our soldiers war criminals.” Supporters chanted “Shame! Shame!”, Ynet reports (Ynet). Turning to the opposition’s “alliance of those who serve” slogan, he said: “People who not only fail to serve the state — they serve the state’s enemies. That is exactly what we have here. This is the Islamic Movement, this is the Joint List, this is Balad” (transcript). Ynet renders the same line as “not only do not serve the state, but serve the state’s enemies” (Ynet).

Arab party leaders answered with plans to oust him. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said the bloc stood “ready and prepared to pave the way for the ousting of the Netanyahu government” and offered an alternative “against a politics of supremacy, racism and exclusion,” The National reports. Ahmad Tibi framed the choice as “either Bibi or Tibi” (The National). A day earlier, Arab-led lists accused Netanyahu of inciting hatred against Palestinian citizens of Israel to boost turnout, Al Jazeera reports (Al Jazeera).

Eisenkot, the main challenger, said a “worthy leader would accept the people’s vote of no confidence and announce today his retirement from political life,” and told security chiefs, “You serve the state,” according to All Israel News (All Israel News). The National quotes him: “Netanyahu, do not dare use Israel’s security for your political needs” (The National). Democrats leader Yair Golan went further and called for “a government of change in partnership with Israel’s Arab citizens” (The National).

Each side has counterpoints. Netanyahu’s camp points to ties he cited: Ynet notes that the Islamic Movement’s southern branch links to the Raam party and has roots in the Muslim Brotherhood (Ynet). Eisenkot himself has ruled out working with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values, Al Jazeera reports (Al Jazeera). Arab parties held about 18 seats, up from 10, and Mansour Abbas’s Raam party served in a 2021 government, The National reports (The National). Likud also claimed the vote got “stolen by Arab parties” and said it holds “hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence”; The National reports the claim, and this desk saw no ruling on it (The National).

What comes next: President Isaac Herzog said he would begin consultations after final results next week and urged parties to avoid another election, The National reports. The first nominee gets up to 42 days to form a coalition (The National). Netanyahu faces trial on bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges and denies wrongdoing, Ynet notes (Ynet).