#middle-east

Results released October 29 from Israel's October 27 election give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, down from 68 at its peak, with his main opposition, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, at 48 and Arab-led parties at a record 19. A majority needs 61. Results are to be certified and delivered to the president the following Wednesday.

After the head of the election committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, said "serious suspicions" of foreign interference had been brought to him and asked the Shin Bet to investigate, though he could not verify them, Likud declared that "the elections in Israel have been stolen!" Qatar called the allegations "ridiculous and dangerous." The committee said the probe does not affect the final results and that claims of systematic violations are baseless; the Shin Bet said it was not casting aspersions on any part of the population. Eisenkot said Likud was doing this "because they lost." The opposition could reach a majority only with the Arab-led parties, a rare and politically risky step.