Israeli election: 'Netanyahu did not win, he lost dramatically,' former PM Barak says

In an interview with FRANCE 24, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "did not win" this week's election in Israel but "lost dramatically", and that his rival Gadi Eisenkot should ally with Arab parties. Barak also suggested that claims of Qatari funding for an Arab party aimed to distract from an ongoing corruption scandal, and warned that Netanyahu was ready to strike Iran to stay in power.

Speaking to FRANCE 24 from Tel Aviv, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak said that, counting the Arab parties, Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents won 67 seats, against 53 for his right-wing and far-right coalition.

"Netanyahu did not win. He lost dramatically," Barak said.

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and his allies have ruled out a coalition with Arab parties, but Barak believes they "can change their mind", as Netanyahu would no doubt do in their place.

"If Netanyahu had a similar problem, he would immediately invite Mansour Abbas" (leader of the Arab party Raam) and "give him the role of a minister of interior," Barak said.

Read moreNetanyahu piles pressure on Arab parties with claims of foreign funding to 'steal' election

Netanyahu's camp says the election was rigged, citing alleged Qatari funding of an Arab party, which Doha denies. Barak suggested the claim aimed to divert attention from "Qatargate", the investigation into alleged ties between two of Netanyahu's close aides and Qatar.

"The real suspect should be Netanyahu's own closest aides and government," he said.

Finally, Barak warned that Netanyahu was "ready" to strike Iran, possibly after the US midterm elections, in order to "remain in power until the next (Israeli) election".

"It has nothing to do with the national interest of Israel," he said, dismissing Netanyahu's claims that Iran was "planning something" as "fake news".