Likud calls the Raamgate scandal a political earthquake and says Israel's elections were stolen
LikudPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, in a statement
In a statement reported by AFP, Netanyahu's Likud party calls what it names the Raamgate scandal a political earthquake and says Israel's elections have been stolen.
“The Raamgate scandal is a political earthquake. Israel's elections have been stolen!”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Netanyahu's allies accuse Arab parties over alleged Qatari election funding, and Ben-Gvir seeks arrests; Arab parties and Qatar deny it
After Israel's October 27, 2026 election, Central Elections Committee chair Noam Sohlberg asked the Shin Bet to investigate suspicions that foreign entities funded efforts to influence the vote, which members of Netanyahu's bloc tied to Qatar and the Arab party Ra'am. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the arrest of Arab party leaders suspected of involvement, and Likud said the election had been stolen. Ra'am's Mansour Abbas, the Joint List's Ahmad Tibi and Qatar's foreign ministry rejected the accusations.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Agence France-Presse reports that the elections committee chair asked the Shin Bet to investigate allegations that the Arab party Ra'am received money from Qatar. It quotes Likud's statement that the elections were stolen, responses from Ra'am, the Joint List and Eisenkot, and the Shin Bet's statement that its inquiry is not over. This copy is the AFP story as published on Yahoo News.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
AFP reports that Sohlberg requested a Shin Bet investigation into allegations that the Arab grouping Ra'am received money from Qatar.
After the quotation
AFP reports that Ra'am chief Mansour Abbas said his party had no connection to the affair and welcomed an investigation.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns the allegation, raised by members of Netanyahu's bloc and referred to the Shin Bet, that Arab parties were involved in Qatari or other foreign funding meant to influence the October 27 election. Likud names the alleged scheme after Ra'am and says it means the elections were stolen, which condemns the alleged conduct.
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More from this case
Read the full caseQatar's foreign ministry denies interfering in Israel's election or funding efforts to influence it
Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“We categorically deny allegations that Qatar has interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome”Read statement
Tibi says the campaign aims to scare Eisenkot off relying on the Arab parties
“This entire campaign is directed against Eisenkot, to prevent him, intimidate and scare him off forming a government that relies on external support from the Joint List or Ra'am”Read statement
Abbas says nothing will come of the campaign against Arab citizens because there is nothing there
“We have one message in response to the campaign of incitement and delegitimisation he is waging against Arab citizens: Nothing will come of it because there is nothing there”Read statement
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- Likud calls the Raamgate scandal a political earthquake and says Israel's elections were stolen
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The Dispute Index. "Likud calls the Raamgate scandal a political earthquake and says Israel's elections were stolen". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/7226-in-a-statement-reported-by-afp-netanyahu-s