Netanyahu alleges Israeli election fraud, accuses coalation of duplicity

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday a newly formed Israeli coalition that is poised to unseat him was the result of "the greatest election fraud" in the history of democracy. He made his sweeping accusation at a time when Israel's domestic security chief has warned publicly about the prospect of political violence. Netanyahu focused his allegations on a broken campaign promise from the man set to replace him as prime minister, nationalist Naftali Bennett. Bennett had pledged not to partner with left-wing, centrist and Arab parties, but on Wednesday announced with opposition leader Yair Lapid that they had formed a governing coalition with factions from across the political spectrum. Under a rotation deal, Bennett will serve first as prime minister, followed by Lapid.

No date has been set for a vote in parliament to approve the new government, which follows an inconclusive March 23 election, but it is widely expected to be sworn in on June 14."We are witnessing the greatest election fraud in the history of the country, in my opinion in the history of any democracy," Netanyahu said in comments to legislators of his right-wing Likud party. "That's why people justifiably feel deceived and they are responding, they must not be shut up," he said in the remarks, which were broadcast live and referred indirectly to Bennett's campaign promise not to team up with Lapid and others.

While condemning violence and incitement, Netanyahu repeated his designation of the Lapid-Bennett coalition as a dangerous leftist alliance. "This government is endangering Israel with such a danger the likes of which we have not seen for many years," he said.Netanyahu said the politically diverse new coalition would not be able to stand up to the United States if Washington returns to a nuclear deal with Iran nor deal forcefully with Gaza's Hamas militants, who engaged Israel in 11 days of cross-border fighting last month. He also criticised Facebook and Twitter, saying the two social media platforms, which he uses extensively, had been blocking legitimate right-wing criticism of the Lapid-Bennett coalition.