Israeli Politicsupdated 54m ago3 min read
Isaac Herzog Accepts Israel Election Results, Begins Consultations With Netanyahu And Eisenkot
“Our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole,”
“Netanyahu’s camp has been accused of seeking to delegitimise the results after launching a series of largely discounted claims”
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President Isaac Herzog accepted the election results and will begin consultations to form a government. Netanyahu and Eisenkot failed to secure an outright majority, prompting consultations with party leaders.
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Herzog starts coalition talks
Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted certified election results and began consultations with party representatives ahead of appointing a person to form the new government, after the election produced no clear parliamentary majority for either of the two main blocs. The Central Elections Committee said its audit of last week’s voting did not reveal any violations affecting the integrity of the vote, and it stated that it “found nothing indicating any compromise of the election’s integrity.” Herzog’s consultations were set to start at 15:00 UTC and last two days, with Herzog meeting first with representatives of smaller parties before meeting Likud led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yesh Atid led by Gadi Eisenkot.
“The audit is complete; we reviewed all complaints submitted by the political forces and found nothing indicating any compromise of the election’s integrity.”
The election results left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats and Eisenkot’s bloc with 48 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Arab parties won 19 seats, leaving coalition arithmetic dependent on negotiations. The process now hinges on whether Herzog will task Netanyahu or Eisenkot, or whether Arab parties become a swing factor in forming a government that can win the Knesset’s confidence.
Fraud claims and legal friction
Netanyahu and Likud accused the election process of fraud, and the Israeli Election Committee approved the results after stating its review did not reveal any violations affecting the integrity of the election or its outcomes. Government legal adviser Gali Baharav-Mior intervened on Tuesday evening by requesting the head of the Shin Bet security service, Dadi Ben-Shabbat, to present any evidence supporting the fraud allegations, after accusations by Netanyahu and his Likud party of fraud especially in Arab areas. Shin Bet had informed the Election Committee that it possessed intelligence indicating transfers of large sums from abroad aimed at influencing the election, and it said the matter required continued investigation to determine the scope of these activities and their reach.
Central Elections Committee chairman Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg warned that “This is a real danger,” as he said voices were trying to cast doubt on the election results and undermine their legitimacy. Herzog also urged patience and said any suspicion of subversive foreign interference on the election results must be thoroughly investigated by the Shin Bet and the police.
Opposition splits over Arab parties
Israeli opposition leaders led by Gadi Eizenkot pledged on Tuesday to form a government as soon as possible to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and avoid new elections, but they disagreed on engaging Arab parties. The opposition bloc’s joint statement affirmed their determination “as soon as possible, and to prevent Israel from being dragged into new elections,” while it kept four principles outlined by Eizenkot, including recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and denouncing Hamas as a “terrorist organization.” Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman opposed including Arab parties in the government, even as the head of the left-wing Democratic party, Yair governor, supported an alliance with Arab parties and argued that excluding Arab citizens from governance is racist.
Herzog urged political forces to show “flexibility and understanding,” saying “one cannot fulfill all commitments and promises” without a clear winner in the elections, and he condemned “racist” statements targeting Arab citizens after Netanyahu’s bloc accused Arab parties of attempting to “steal the elections.” The Anadolu Ajansı framework described how the Israeli law allows 3 attempts to form governments after the Knesset elections, and it said that if all attempts fail, procedures leading to the dissolution of the Knesset and calling for new elections begin.