Jerusalem [Israel], October 29 (ANI): Chairman of Israel’s Democratic Party Yair Golan met with B'Yachad no. 2 Yair Lapid on Thursday as part of ongoing efforts to assemble a coalition and oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the post-election negotiations.
In a post on X, Golan reaffirmed his commitment to forming a government of change in coordination with opposition partners, amid Shin Bet probing allegations of possible foreign interference in the recently concluded Knesset elections.
"Just came out of a good meeting with my friend, Yair Lapid," Golan wrote. "I am determined to make every effort, turn over every stone, and act with all our partners to save Israel."
Golan emphasised that coordination among opposition figures would remain tight as discussions proceed.
"We will continue to work in coordination. We will not give up on the opportunity for change," Golan stated, adding, "We will do it, and we will succeed".
יוצא מפגישה טובה עם חברי, יאיר לפיד. אני נחוש לעשות כל מאמץ, להפוך כל אבן ולפעול עם כל שותפינו כדי להציל את ישראל. נמשיך לעבוד בתיאום. לא נוותר על ההזדמנות לשינוי. נעשה ונצליח 🇮🇱 https://t.co/jQLZgv69Iz
— Yair Golan - יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) October 29, 2026
Earlier in the day, Golan said that incumbent Prime Minister Netanyahu has “suffered a crushing defeat” and is now trying to “undermine the election results through an ugly delegitimisation campaign against the will of the public”, specifically against Arab Israelis.
“Netanyahu suffered a crushing democratic defeat. The public fired him, and he refuses to accept the verdict of the voters. Now he is trying to undermine the election results through an ugly delegitimisation campaign against the will of the public, and against the Arab public in particular,” Yair Golan posted on X.
Golan has vowed to make sure that Netanyahu “vacates the (Prime Minister’s) chair”.
While saying that any genuine suspicion regarding the damage to the integrity of elections must be “investigated to the end”, he said that one must not forget that one of the “most serious Qatari involvements was carried out in Netanyahu’s office”, by his closest advisor.
“Any genuine suspicion of damage to the integrity of the elections must be investigated to the end. And it must not be forgotten for a moment: the betrayal and the most serious Qatari involvement were carried out in Netanyahu's office, by his closest advisor. We're still waiting for Urich to be fired,” Golan wrote on X.
Golan referred to allegations involving Yonatan Urich, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been barred from contacting Netanyahu amid a probe for security-related offenses, including the delivery of secret information and the destruction of evidence, according to Jerusalem Post.
The allegations refer to an incident popularly known as the “Qatargate” affair, in which it is alleged that Urich, along with other officials, were receiving illicit payments from Qatari-linked sources to promote pro-Qatari messaging within Israel, according to Jerusalem Post.
Subsequently, Israeli Central Elections Committee Chair Justice Noam Sohlberg asked Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate allegations of foreign interference in Tuesday’s election. Shin Bet is currently probing allegations of Qatari influence in the recently concluded elections.
However, Acting Central Elections Committee Director General Dean Livne has firmly rejected allegations of widespread election fraud as baseless, insisting that Tuesday’s Knesset vote was conducted lawfully.
According to The Times of Israel, Livne dismissed the claims, confirming that no evidence supports allegations of systemic irregularities.
Additionally, Qatar has strongly denied claims that it interfered in Israel’s elections, accusing "certain Israeli politicians" of exploiting its name to serve domestic political interests and cover up their own failures.
Nevertheless, the decision has created a political firestorm in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu described the controversy as an “earthquake”, alleging that foreign entities interfered in the elections in favour of Arab parties and calling on Zionist parties to reject cooperation with Ra’am and the Joint List, while the Arab political parties in Israel have rejected the allegations.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasised the necessity of a rigorous review while warning against unfairly maligning the broader Arab populace. (ANI)
