Israeli Politicsupdated 35m ago3 min read
Israel Central Elections Committee Certifies Results After Rejecting Netanyahu’s Fraud Claims
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Central Elections Committee certified results, found no evidence of irregularities or fraud. Netanyahu's fraud allegations were rejected by the committee.
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Certification Ends Fraud Fight
Israel’s Central Elections Committee certified the results of last week’s parliamentary elections after finding no evidence of fraud, a decision Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg framed as “a real danger” to Israel’s democracy for those casting doubt on the outcome. Sohlberg said the committee’s review of 9,069 polling stations found no irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or changed its results, and acting director Dean Livne said every complaint had been examined individually. In the committee’s five-member presidium, representatives of Yesh Atid and Blue and White voted to ratify the results while Likud and Shas abstained, and Sohlberg cast the deciding vote.
Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies had repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Arab-led parties “stole” the election, possibly with foreign help, and the committee’s certification came after that dispute was rejected. The committee’s decision also followed Shin Bet intelligence presented to the committee about foreign funding and influence operations involving “thousands of people and possibly more,” even as law enforcement sources told Haaretz daily they were unaware of any operation of that size.
Herzog Consults, Parties Clash
President Isaac Herzog received the results on Wednesday and began two days of consultations with party leaders before choosing the candidate best placed to form a coalition, with the Times of Israel reporting a break from custom that would start with Religious Zionism. The Central Elections Committee said its audit of 9,069 polling stations following complaints left it confident that the announced results “accurately reflect the will of the voters,” while Netanyahu’s camp continued to press claims of fraud by Arab-majority parties. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked intelligence services to provide proof of poll fraud, and she said, “If the Shin Bet or any other authority holds evidence that would justify opening an investigation, it is invited to present it,” according to NDTV.
Gadi Eisenkot warned that Likud and Netanyahu were “trying to drag us all into a dangerous constitutional crisis,” as he framed the dispute over investigations and certification as a threat to the rule of law. The deadlock left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats and Eisenkot’s bloc with 48, while Ra’am and the Joint List secured a record 19 seats, leaving the 61-seat majority needed to govern out of reach.
Arab Parties Coordinate Next
Arab parties in the Knesset met for the first time to coordinate positions ahead of President Isaac Herzog’s consultations, and Anadolu Ajansı reported that Abdel Ra’ouf Arnaout described the meeting as aimed at toppling Netanyahu’s government. Ahmed Al-Tayyib, head of the Joint List faction, posted on X that “the goal is to topple Netanyahu’s and Ben Gvir’s and Smotrich’s government and replace it with a change government,” and the photo also showed Yusuf Jabirin and Mansour Abbas. Anadolu Ajansı reported that on Sunday “Ma’a,” led by Naftali Bennett, recommended to Herzog that he appoint Yediny (Gadi) Eisenkot to form the government, and the official broadcaster said the “Democrats” party led by Yair Golan was inclined to nominate Eisenkot.
The same report said Channel 12 reported that Avigdor Liberman would recommend Eisenkot to Herzog, and it added that Arab lawmakers hinted they would urge Herzog to appoint Eisenkot to prevent Netanyahu from forming a government. Anadolu Ajansı also said Netanyahu’s bloc had 53 seats against the 61-seat majority required to form a government, and it described Netanyahu as facing corruption charges including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, with the report adding that he was wanted since 2024 to appear before the International Criminal Court.