Israel Police find no basis for Likud claim that Arab parties stole the 2026 vote

Israel Police have rejected an allegation by the Likud party that the 2026 general election was stolen by Arab parties, saying there is no investigative or intelligence basis for the claim. Ynet reported that the police response came in an official statement, which said there was "no investigative or intelligence support" for the accusation.

Likud had alleged that the vote was taken by parties that, in its words, back the elimination of the Jewish state, and that this was done through bribery, threats and forgeries, according to Ynet. In a response quoted by News.co.il, the police also said election day had seen only a small number of unusual incidents relating to election integrity, a lower level even when set against previous elections.

What Likud alleged

Ynet described the Likud accusation as part of a broader campaign aimed at delegitimising any political partnership with the Arab parties. The party's message, as Ynet relayed it, was that the result had been obtained by bribery, intimidation and falsified votes.

Knesset member Simcha Rothman made a similar accusation. News.co.il reported that he said the election had been stolen and that he had received reports of bribery on a scale never before seen in Israel. The Knesset is Israel's parliament, and its members are elected on national party lists, which is why the vote shares of individual parties, including Arab parties, carry weight in forming a governing coalition.

How the police responded

The reports differ slightly in how they describe the form of the police response. Ynet and News.co.il present it as a formal statement issued by Israel Police. N12 correspondent Yulan Cohen attributed the same wording to unnamed police officials responding to the Likud accusations, and political commentator Amit Segal wrote that police were briefing against the Likud announcement. All of the reports agree on the core message: that police have no investigative or intelligence grounds supporting the allegation.

The phrase used in Hebrew coverage, tohar habehirot, translates roughly as "purity of the elections" and refers to election integrity: the prevention of vote buying, intimidation, ballot fraud and similar offences. Israel Police have a role in investigating such offences around election day, which is why their assessment is relevant to Likud's claim.

The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post also reported that police had dismissed the claim, citing an absence of evidence.

The Ra'am activists case

Ynet added that a case opened against activists of Ra'am who had been arrested is expected to be closed. Ra'am is one of the Arab parties that compete in Israeli elections. The report did not say what the activists were suspected of or when they were detained.

The election backdrop

Israel's general election took place on October 27, 2026, according to a photo caption published by The Jerusalem Post showing Arab Israelis arriving to vote at a polling station in Tayibe, an Arab city in central Israel. Arab citizens make up a significant minority of Israel's population, and whether Arab parties should be part of, or support, a governing coalition has been a recurring point of dispute in Israeli politics.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not detail the specific incidents or evidence Likud cited, nor where the alleged bribery, threats or forgeries were said to have taken place. They do not say whether Likud has filed a formal complaint with police or the elections authorities, or whether it intends to challenge the results through legal channels. The police statement does not give a number for the unusual incidents it recorded on election day. Ynet's report on the Ra'am activists does not state the grounds for their arrest or who is expected to close the file. None of the reports carries a response from Likud to the police statement, or a comment from the Arab parties named in the accusation.