Trump says he'll monitor Israel coalition talks as police dismiss Netanyahu's election-theft claim
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U.S. President Donald Trump said he will “take a look” at Israel’s coalition talks, while Israeli police rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegation that Arab parties stole the election, saying there was no evidence to support it.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios he had not considered intervening in Israel's post-election coalition talks, but added, "I will take a look." A White House official later clarified that no decision had been made about U.S. involvement, leaving the matter unresolved.
Israeli police rejected Netanyahu's claim that Arab-Israeli parties "stole" the vote, stating there was no investigative or intelligence-based evidence supporting the allegation. The police source said election day proceeded with few irregularities compared with previous elections.
The Arab bloc is projected to win a historic 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, positioning it as a potential kingmaker in the next governing arithmetic. Netanyahu's Likud alliance remains eight seats short of the 61 needed for a majority, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc trails by a similar margin. Both sides have ruled out partnering with the Arab parties, reflecting the political limits imposed by the election results.
Balad party leader Sami Abu Shehadeh accused Israel's main political leaders of racism for refusing to work with the Arab bloc, describing his party as the "legitimate elected leadership of the national minority." Former ambassador Daniel Shek warned that the rise of the Arab vote cannot be ignored in Israeli politics.
Final results are expected on 4 November after remaining ballots, including those from soldiers and overseas voters, are counted.