Israeli president accepts certified election results and opens talks on forming a government

Israel's head of state, Isaac Herzog, formally recognized the official tally of the Oct. 27 parliamentary vote on Wednesday and started talks with party delegations on who should get the first chance to assemble a governing coalition, PBS NewsHour and BBC News reported.

His move followed a finding by the Central Elections Committee that it had uncovered nothing improper capable of changing the outcome. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have accused Arab-led parties of stealing the election, possibly with outside help, but have offered no proof, according to the Associated Press report published by PBS.

The vote left no bloc with a majority in the 120-member Knesset. According to BBC News, Netanyahu's Likud and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners hold 53 seats. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's centrist Yashar party and three allied Jewish parties hold 48. Two Arab-led alliances won 19, a record, helped by stronger Arab turnout. The BBC noted that before the vote, every Jewish party except one ruled out governing with them.

Presenting the results at a ceremony, committee chairman Noam Sohlberg, a Supreme Court justice, cautioned against attempts to erode trust in the vote. "At this stage, these are merely suspicions, and even if they are substantiated, the scope of their potential impact is limited," he said, as reported by PBS.

The Shin Bet security service continues to look into claims of foreign meddling. Both outlets said Sohlberg shared an agency assessment describing significant sums of money entering the country from abroad, including from states hostile to Israel. PBS said the agency gave no supporting evidence. The BBC cited earlier Israeli media accounts of an allegation that Qatar funded efforts to raise Arab turnout, which Qatar's foreign ministry rejected.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara turned down a bid by Shin Bet chief David Zini, whom Netanyahu appointed, to question Arab lawmakers, saying no evidence warranted it. PBS said Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas was among them; the BBC put the number at four. Likud accused her of hindering the probe, according to the BBC. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Arab party leaders to be arrested, and the Joint List described the push as incitement aimed at undermining Arab voters.

Herzog said the inquiry should go forward but that Arab citizens "must not be smeared," and he denounced recent racist rhetoric. The BBC reported that he also warned parties they would need to give up some campaign pledges to avert another election.

On Wednesday, three factions aligned with Netanyahu endorsed him and a fourth endorsed Eisenkot, PBS reported, with eight more parties due Thursday. The BBC said the nominee will get 28 days to form a coalition, extendable by 14. Failing that, Israelis would vote again early next year, according to PBS.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour and BBC News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/774