JERUSALEM — Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially accepted the certified results of the recent parliamentary elections on Wednesday, declaring them legally binding and initiating formal consultations with party leaders to establish a new government.
The development follows claims made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies alleging electoral fraud and foreign interference—claims that lacked substantiation. While an ongoing investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence agency is examining allegations of foreign funding inflows, Israel’s elections commission confirmed it found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity or final outcome of the vote.
Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, head of the elections committee, emphasized during the presentation of results to the president that public trust remains fragile.
“At this stage, these are merely suspicions, and even if they are substantiated, the scope of their potential impact is limited.”
Sohlberg further warned that casting doubt on verified democratic processes is dangerous, noting that public trust is “easy to destroy, yet very difficult to repair.”
President Herzog similarly urged political figures to accept the outcome, stating, “The elections are over. Now is the time to face reality.”
With neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot securing an outright majority in the Knesset, Herzog’s round of consultations will determine which candidate is tasked with building a governing coalition. If coalition talks fail, Israel could face a new round of elections early next year.