Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc on Thursday piled pressure on Israeli Arab leaders over unproven accusations of foreign funding, in a push to neuter parties that made strong gains after an otherwise indecisive election.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right firebrand with a history of attacks on Palestinians, went so far as to encourage Israel "immediately" to order the arrests of Arab party leaders.

Israel was nearing the completion of ballot-counting from Tuesday's election in which neither Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot looked able to secure a majority in the parliament known as the Knesset.

A looming threat on the horizon, meanwhile, was the prospect of a return to war with Iran, alongside Israel's ally the United States, which is holding its own crucial midterms next week.

Israel's election saw a soaring performance by Israel...