Israel's President Accepts Election Results, Launches Coalition Talks
Herzog begins consultations after a commission clears the vote, while a separate intelligence probe into foreign funding continues.
By Jack Weber ·
Israeli President Isaac Herzog moved to settle the political uncertainty following last week's parliamentary vote by accepting the certified results on Wednesday. By declaring the outcome legally binding, he formally opened the process for forming a new government, a step that ends the legal limbo created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's challenge to the count.
The elections commission concluded its review with a finding of no irregularities that compromised the integrity of the vote. In a private meeting, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, the committee head, read an intelligence assessment from the Shin Bet. The agency reported a widespread influx of substantial foreign funds into Israel, yet provided no specific evidence to back that claim.
Sohlberg emphasized that the results are final and legally binding. He warned that public trust in the electoral system is easy to destroy but very difficult to repair. The committee maintains that even if foreign interference occurred, its potential impact on the final tally was limited.
Herzog began a series of sit-downs with party leaders on Wednesday night to determine who will form the next government. Three factions aligned with Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist base recommended him for the role. A fourth group, led by a former Netanyahu ally, supported opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. Eight other parties are scheduled to meet the president on Thursday, with Likud and Eisenkot’s Yashar party speaking last.
A separate probe by the Shin Bet into foreign interference remains ongoing. The agency asked the attorney general for permission to interrogate senior Arab lawmakers, including Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected the request, stating that citizens and elected officials cannot be questioned without justification. The Joint List of Arab parties called the move a campaign of incitement designed to delegitimize the Arab vote.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who holds no authority over the Shin Bet, urged the agency to arrest all leaders of Arab political parties. He suggested they be interrogated in basement cells until suspicions are clarified. Herzog acknowledged the need for the investigation to proceed but cautioned that Arab Israeli voters must not be smeared, condemning the racist expressions used in recent political debates.
The October 27 vote left neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor Eisenkot’s coalition with a parliamentary majority. If Herzog cannot designate a candidate capable of forming a government, Israel will hold a new election early next year.
