Israeli officials say elections will stand after Netanyahu claimed Arabs stole vote

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's efforts to question last week's elections weakened Sunday as officials said the vote would not be undermined by the allegations and a court ordered suspects in one case released.

In an image that indicated officials were on the same page, the head of Israel’s elections committee was shown sitting between Israel's attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service for a statement making clear that even if claims of foreign interference raised last week are substantiated, the vote would stand.

Netanyahu's Likud party has said, without giving evidence, that Arab-led parties “stole” the elections in which Netanyahu's bloc lost its majority of seats in parliament. By casting doubt on the vote, Netanyahu appears to be trying to block any potential alliance in the opposition with the Arab parties that could force him from office.

Likud has cited a handful of cases, including the arrests of three political activists before polls opened on Oct. 27 with envelopes of cash, allegedly to bribe voters. Two days later, police arrested four more suspects. Police said the suspects were connected to the Islamist party Ra'am, which denied that it was involved.

A judge on Sunday questioned or rejected police requests for further restrictions on the three suspects. Police later said one was released subject to unspecified “conditions” and another was ordered to remain on house arrest for eight days. The detention of the third suspect was extended for two days.

Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra’am party, which won eight seats in the Knesset, denounced the arrests as undemocratic and “an attempt to influence the election results.”

Netanyahu saw his parliamentary bloc of allies drop to 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, down from a peak of 68 in the outgoing parliament.

A bloc of parties led by his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats, while Arab-led parties, including Ra’am, won the remaining 19 seats. Together, those two blocs opposing Netanyahu have enough seats to form a new government, though it remains unclear whether they will agree to do so.

The results are due to be officially certified this week, and President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday will begin meeting with each of the parties elected to parliament after that to see who they prefer to be the next prime minister.

Following those consultations, he will choose the candidate — most likely Netanyahu or Eisenkot — who he believes has the best chance of forming a coalition government.

That would set the stage for weeks of negotiations. If they are unsuccessful, Herzog could ask another candidate to try. Otherwise, the country would be plunged into a new election early next year.

Netanyahu has suggested that it would be treasonous for Eisenkot to join with Arab parties. Some Israelis agree. A few dozen people protested outside Eisenkot's home on Sunday night.

“We have a tiny country, a very tiny Jewish country. We want to keep it as a Jewish country,” said one protester, Shoshana Idasis. Other, larger rallies in recent days have called for a Jewish-Arab coalition.

Likud also has alleged foreign interference in the vote. The Shin Bet security service, at the request of Israel’s election commission, has opened an investigation.

But the head of the elections committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, said that "our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole.”

Likud quickly issued a statement asking how the committee chief can acknowledge there are serious allegations while saying there will be no effect on the final outcome.

Eisenkot on Sunday accused Netanyahu of launching an “orchestrated and organized campaign to delegitimize the election results” by insinuating that Qatar had supported opposition parties to unseat Netanyahu. Eisenkot said that Shin Bet briefed him on the investigation into foreign interference.

Qatar has denied funding any activities meant to influence the election's outcome. Many Israelis see the Gulf Arab country as a patron of Hamas, and allegations of its influence have roiled Israeli politics in other cases, including one in which close aides of Netanyahu allegedly accepted money from Qatar while working for the prime minister’s office.

Netanyahu’s opponents have accused him of using scare tactics and trying to create a narrative to further discriminate against Arab-led parties and Israel’s Arab citizens, who make up 20% of the population.

Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List of Arab parties, which won 11 seats, noted last week that more than half the content published by Likud and Netanyahu on election day was directed against Arab voters as a tactic to encourage right-wing Israelis to vote.

“In moments of crisis, he reverts to his familiar tactic: racist incitement and the delegitimization of the Arab public,” he said.

Demonstrators rally outside Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot's residence to protest against the formation of a Jewish-Arab government, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Herzliya, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Tamar Tshuva wears a shirt printed with an image of her brother, Barak Davidi, who was killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, as she speaks at a protest outside Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot's residence against the formation of a Jewish-Arab government, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Herzliya, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest outside Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot's residence against the formation of a Jewish-Arab government, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Herzliya, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People call for the formation of a Jewish-Arab government during a protest following Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People call for the formation of a Jewish-Arab government during a protest following Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest against left-wing activists calling for the formation of a government that includes Arab parties, following Israel's general election, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People call for the formation of a Jewish-Arab government during a protest following Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People call for the formation of a Jewish-Arab government during a protest following Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

As Italy celebrated its first Formula 1 champion in 73 years, there was a note of snark aimed at the country's biggest racing brand.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was on top of the world “thanks to his talent, his car and not having raced for Ferrari,” a line on the front page of Italy's biggest sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport said.

While Antonelli partied, Ferrari descended into infighting between its drivers as the iconic team marked its 19th year in a row without a champion driver.

Here's why Antonelli wasn't wearing Ferrari red, and how Mercedes' bet on a youngster paid off after seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton left.

Amid the celebrations in Mexico on Sunday, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff turned the clock back to 2017 and his first meetings with then 11-year-old Antonelli.

That was the age when Antonelli was turned away by Ferrari and joined Mercedes and Wolff instead. The exact details of what happened are contested, but former Ferrari personnel have said he was considered too young for its development program.

“It’s incredible. We have to pinch ourselves because it seems like yesterday he was 11 years old in the garage in junior karting and it goes so fast,” Wolff told Sky Sports.

Wolff said it was “always a calculated risk, not a real risk” to give Antonelli his F1 shot for 2025 when Hamilton left for Ferrari but revealed Mercedes “had two sponsors leaving us because of that, because of, you know, ‘Who is this kid?’”

Even Antonelli has admitted he began to doubt himself in his winless and erratic rookie year. A breakthrough win in China in March started a run of five victories which left Antonelli as Mercedes' main title contender ahead of his more experienced teammate George Russell.

F1 teams are increasingly focusing on younger drivers. The Mercedes young driver mentor Gwen Lagrue, a key figure in Antonelli's development, was a high-profile hire this year for Red Bull, which also signed the 11-year-old son of Kimi Raikkonen, the last driver to win the title for Ferrari in 2007.

Antonelli is redefining how F1 fandom works in Italy after decades of support for Ferrari as a team, no matter the nationality of the driver in the cockpit.

Signing Hamilton was meant to bring Ferrari back to the top in F1, but it just hasn't happened yet.

As Antonelli and Mercedes celebrated — though without teammate George Russell, who left early — Ferrari was descending into yet another bout of the infighting which has marred the team in recent years.

Hamilton's opening-lap battle with teammate Charles Leclerc dropped him to third and got Leclerc a penalty.

“We lost valuable points we could have easily been one-two today, but your teammate works against you,” Hamilton said, adding: “something needs to change, for sure.”

Signing Hamilton was the ultimate evolution of Ferrari's decades-old blueprint for success. For decades, it's spent big on hiring the very best drivers from around the world.

When it works, it's spectacular, like Michael Schumacher's five titles in a row for Ferrari in the 2000s. Hamilton's childhood memories of “seeing Michael in the red car” played a big part in his decision to join the team, too.

With one win in two years at Ferrari, Hamilton now risks being remembered alongside other F1 greats who couldn't bring success to Italy. Alain Prost, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso won a combined 10 titles, but spent 13 years between them at Ferrari without winning the championship there.

For a proudly Italian team, Ferrari has often had little involvement with local talent. Founder Enzo Ferrari stopped hiring Italians after a spate of fatal crashes for the team's Italian stars in F1's early years. Only one Italian, Michele Alboreto, drove a full season for the team in the last half-century.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco walks through the pits during a halt of the session during the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Daniel Becerril/Pool Photo via AP)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates his world champion title after the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, congratulates Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy after he wins the Formula One world championship following the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)