Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said this Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot remain at the head of the government "even one minute longer," amid new accusations of alleged electoral manipulation involving officials close to the prime minister. The statements came hours after representatives of Netanyahu's Likud party met with delegations from Yashar! and Beyajad, forces linked to the opposition bloc, to explore the possibility of forming a unity government. However, Eisenkot, a former head of the Israel Defense Forces, ruled out any agreement that would involve Netanyahu remaining in power, whom he accused of representing a direct threat to Israeli democracy. "Under no circumstances can Netanyahu remain at the head of the government even one minute longer. Under no circumstances should Israel be dragged into other elections with him as prime minister," the leader said. The opposition leader also questioned the guarantees of the electoral system while Netanyahu remains in office. In his view, the prime minister's continued presence compromises the possibility of holding new elections under legitimate conditions. "This is the primary consideration that guides me in all the coalition negotiations I am carrying out at this moment," he said. The statements come amid negotiations to form a new government, after Netanyahu himself proposed to Eisenkot the possibility of reaching a unity agreement. Accusations of electoral manipulation Eisenkot's statement was also marked by information published by Israel's Channel 12 television, which points to the alleged involvement of a senior official in Netanyahu's office in the dissemination of false evidence about an alleged electoral fraud. During the day of voting, Likud had accused Arab political parties of committing irregularities. However, the background published by the Israeli media indicates that part of the information used to support those complaints would have been fabricated. For Eisenkot, the revelations open a new controversy over the conduct of the prime minister's circle and the possible use of police agencies to intervene in the electoral process. "Now an even more serious matter has come to light: an alleged attempt to interfere in the elections by planting false evidence and deploying the police against Arab citizens of Israel without valid search or arrest warrants," he accused. Eisenkot says Netanyahu cannot remain "even one minute longer" and calls for investigating alleged electoral manipulation The former general demanded an immediate investigation and called on the police and the Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence service, to clarify the background published. In addition, he announced that he will push for the creation of an investigative commission to determine whether the prime minister's office was involved in the reported events and to review the conduct of the security agencies before and during the elections. In his statement, Eisenkot also recalled the so-called Qatargate case, related to accusations about alleged ties of people close to Netanyahu with Qatar, and argued that the new revelations aggravate his questions against the prime minister. The prime minister's office, meanwhile, rejected the accusations published by Channel 12 and defended the conduct of Eido Nordan, the official identified in the background of the alleged electoral fraud. The Executive asserted that Nordan, who would have received the information related to the alleged irregularities, "fulfilled his duty."