Arab-Israeli MK Accuses Netanyahu of Sending Advisor to Influence Election

Arab-Israeli Member of Knesset Ahmed Tibi, a physician and long-serving politician, publicly accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sending a personal advisor to meet with him before the recent elections. Tibi claimed on Channel 12 that Netanyahu's advisor, identified as Natan Eshel, approached him on October 20 and 21, and again on October 27 after election results were published, seeking to persuade him not to support a bill that would have protected a sitting prime minister from prosecution. Tibi presented WhatsApp correspondence as evidence during the live broadcast, stating that Eshel, a close confidant of Netanyahu, was concerned about the "accused law."

He recounted a conversation with an unnamed minister who advised him not to trust Netanyahu's offers, suggesting that new elections would be preferable. Tibi responded to this minister by stating, "We don't want elections, we want to bring down Netanyahu and Abu-Nafkha Ben-Gvir."

The MK's accusations came in the context of a speech Netanyahu delivered during the swearing-in ceremony of the 26th Knesset, where the Prime Minister criticized Arab parties and questioned the motives of those considering forming a government that included or depended on them. Netanyahu suggested that their true national aspirations went beyond improving the social conditions of Arab citizens in Israel.