Israeli Lawmaker Calls for New Elections Amid Foreign Funding Probe
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Member of Knesset Moshe Feiglin recommended Binyamin Netanyahu for prime minister but also called for new elections, citing a probe into foreign funding influencing Arab voters. President Yitzhak Herzog criticized Feiglin's call to cancel election results. Security officials stated the foreign funding investigation is focused and does not implicate the Arab public broadly. The political system remains divided over government formation amid these claims.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- MK Moshe Feiglin recommended Binyamin Netanyahu but called for new elections.
- Feiglin cited a probe into foreign funding from Qatar influencing Arab voter turnout.
- President Herzog criticized Feiglin's call to cancel election results.
- Security officials stated the foreign funding probe is cautious and does not implicate the Arab public.
- Gadi Eisenkot leads with 56 recommendations, while other parties also recommended Netanyahu.
Moshe Feiglin, a Member of Knesset representing the 'Zeut' party, recommended Binyamin Netanyahu to form the next government during consultations at the President's Residence on Wednesday. However, Feiglin also caused controversy by publicly calling for new elections and the dissolution of the current Knesset, citing serious suspicions of foreign funding from Qatar aimed at influencing Arab voter turnout. Feiglin declared the elected Knesset illegitimate and stated, "We need to go to additional elections."
Feiglin explained the apparent contradiction between his call for new elections and his recommendation for Netanyahu by stating his commitment to the national camp and the Jewish majority that chose Netanyahu. "If the Jewish majority still chose Netanyahu to lead it, then that's what there is, and I am committed to my voters. But this Knesset must dissolve itself," he said.
President Yitzhak Herzog responded sharply to Feiglin's demand to cancel the election results, noting, "I know history, you never fully trusted the state." Security officials clarified that the investigation into foreign funding is focused and cautious, and does not cast doubt on the Arab public as a whole.
Despite the security clarification, claims about the integrity of the elections continue to stir the political system and further divide the landscape of recommendations for forming a government. Netanyahu is reportedly making intensive efforts to secure the support of the Haredi parties, promising to regulate the conscription law. Meanwhile, the "change bloc" is preparing a comprehensive plan to repeal laws immediately upon the new Knesset's commencement of work.
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