Netanyahu stepped up pressure on Arab Israeli leaders on Thursday over unverified allegations of foreign funding, in an attempt to neutralize Arab parties that have made significant gains following an otherwise inconclusive election. The Israeli elections remained deadlocked, with neither the right-wing Bloc Binyamin Netanyahu nor the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot securing the majority of the 61 seats needed to form a government, leaving the Arab parties as a potential king. Itamar Ben Gabir, the Minister of National Security who has a record of attacking Palestinians, even went so far as to urge Israel to "immediately" order the arrest of the heads of Arab parties. The far-right politician stated that the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, "must order the arrest of heads of Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money. ".

Netanyahu stepped up pressure on Arab Israeli leaders on Thursday over unverified allegations of foreign funding, in an attempt to neutralize Arab parties that have made significant gains following an otherwise inconclusive election. The Israeli elections remained deadlocked, with neither the right-wing Bloc Binyamin Netanyahu nor the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot securing the majority of the 61 seats needed to form a government, leaving the Arab parties as a potential king. Itamar Ben Gabir, the Minister of National Security who has a record of attacking Palestinians, even went so far as to urge Israel to "immediately" order the arrest of the heads of Arab parties. The far-right politician stated that the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, "must order the arrest of heads of Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money. ".