Eisenkot accuses Netanyahu of ‘illegitimate influence operation’ aimed at delaying Israel election results

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies Thursday of running what he called an “illegitimate influence operation” against the Israeli public in an effort to delay publication of the election results and undermine the legitimacy of the next Knesset.

Eisenkot said Netanyahu was trying to exploit still-unresolved allegations of foreign interference in Tuesday’s election before the scope of the suspicions had been established.

“Netanyahu, who has grown accustomed to dealing with reality through lies, information engineering and sowing chaos, is leading, together with his partners, an illegitimate influence operation on the Israeli public aimed at delaying the publication of the election results on time,” Eisenkot said.

He said the campaign was also intended to create “fictitious delegitimization” of the 26th Knesset before it begins its work.

Eisenkot nevertheless called for an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into any genuine foreign interference in the election and said anyone found to have compromised the integrity of the vote should face the strongest possible response.

His comments followed a request by Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg for Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate suspicions that foreign funding may have been used to improperly influence the election.

Eisenkot also pointed to previous allegations of Qatari involvement involving people close to Netanyahu, saying foreign interference was a serious matter whether it occurred in the Prime Minister’s Office or in the electoral system.

He insisted that the new Knesset must convene on schedule and that the official election results should not be challenged on the basis of information that has yet to be fully investigated.