Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Nov 4: Israel's Central Elections Committee has officially certified the results of last week's parliamentary elections, declaring that its review found no evidence of fraud or irregularities that could have affected the outcome, dealing a setback to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, who have repeatedly questioned the credibility of the vote.
At the official results ceremony at President Isaac Herzog's residence on Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg warned that attempts to cast doubt on the election results posed “a real danger” to Israeli democracy.
The committee said it had examined records from 9,069 polling stations and reviewed complaints individually, finding no irregularities that compromised the election's integrity or changed the outcome. Acting committee director Dean Livne said the certified results accurately reflected the choices made by voters.
In the committee's five-member presidium, representatives of Yesh Atid and Blue and White voted in favour of ratifying the results, while representatives of Likud and Shas abstained. Sohlberg, who chaired the panel, cast the deciding vote. The full committee subsequently approved the results.
Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly alleged, without presenting publicly verified evidence, that Arab-led parties had “stolen” the election, possibly with assistance from foreign countries.
The controversy has intensified following a report by Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, which told the committee that intelligence pointed to suspected foreign funding and influence operations involving thousands of people. However, law enforcement sources cited by Israeli media questioned the reported scale of the alleged operation.
The Shin Bet is reportedly seeking to question four Arab politicians, although it has not provided prosecutors with evidence concerning three of them. Likud accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of obstructing the proposed interrogations, while the attorney general has raised concerns about the conduct of Shin Bet chief David Zini, a Netanyahu appointee, according to Israeli media reports.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Zini to arrest Arab party leaders and question them without waiting for the attorney general's approval. He also demanded that certification of the results and the formation of a new government be suspended.
“The elections were stolen, the results are fraudulent, foreign countries interfered,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X, adding that his far-right Otzma Yehudit party would vote against approving the results.
Likud legislator Amit Halevi resigned from the elections committee, alleging that some lawmakers had secured their seats through bribery. He also claimed that the election outcome reflected the choices of Qatar, Iran or Turkey.
Likud had reportedly considered refusing to recognise the results altogether, a move that would be unprecedented in Israel and likely to face legal challenges. Sohlberg rejected the party's demand to discuss the results before certification, maintaining that the committee could not withhold publication of the voters' verdict.
Sohlberg has also said that even if allegations of foreign interference were established, they would not invalidate the overall election outcome. Qatar has rejected claims that it funded Arab-led parties, describing them as disinformation.
The certified results were handed over to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, setting in motion consultations with political parties to determine who should be given the opportunity to form the next government.
In a departure from the usual order, Herzog is expected to meet smaller parties first, beginning with Religious Zionism, followed by Shas and Yisrael Beytenu. Consultations with the remaining parties are expected to continue on Thursday, ending with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party and, finally, Likud.
The election has left Israel facing a complicated coalition-building process, with Netanyahu's bloc securing 53 seats and the bloc supporting opposition leader Eisenkot winning 48. Arab-led parties Ra'am and the Joint List together secured 19 seats. A majority of 61 seats is required to form a government.
Neither main bloc has secured the numbers needed to govern independently. The outcome has raised the possibility of a unity government or an arrangement involving Eisenkot and Arab-led parties. If no leader succeeds in forming a coalition, Israel could be forced to hold another election early next year.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, meanwhile, said the victory of Democrats in the US congressional midterm elections had ruled out the possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu, a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
“Israel cannot afford to let him remain prime minister,” Lapid wrote on X.