Israel certifies election results as Netanyahu's challenge deepens political standoff

Election officials reject grounds to overturn results

The Central Elections Committee (CEC) said it had found no evidence that the election's integrity had been compromised. Although officials were investigating allegations of irregularities, the committee said those claims did not justify invalidating the results.

Presenting the results to Herzog, CEC chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg urged politicians, public servants and citizens to protect confidence in elections. Political disagreements would continue, he said, but "election results, as lawfully determined, are binding on us all."

The certification came amid an escalating confrontation over allegations targeting Arab politicians and voters. Netanyahu's coalition had sought to discredit Arab voters before the election and intensified that campaign after record turnout in the community.

Al Jazeera reported that Netanyahu's allegations of Arab-party election fraud appeared to be losing ground. On November 1, a court released one of three political activists arrested on suspicion of voter bribery and alleged links to Ra'am. Another suspect was ordered to remain under house arrest.

Attorney general challenges Shin Bet chief

On Tuesday evening, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara took the unusual step of publicly accusing Shin Bet chief David Zini of undermining the rule of law. Her intervention followed a report that Zini, a Netanyahu appointee, wanted to question four Arab politicians over alleged involvement in a large foreign-funded effort to influence the election. He presented no evidence.

The attorney general's office said authorities could not question citizens or elected representatives without evidence warranting an interrogation. On Wednesday morning, the Shin Bet again told the CEC that its intelligence indicated substantial foreign influence operations, involving significant funding and "thousands of people and possibly more". Israeli media reported that the agency still had not supplied evidence.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Zini to disregard the attorney general and "arrest all the heads of the Arab parties and interrogate them in the Shin Bet's basements". In a post on X, he also claimed the election had been stolen.

Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said Ben-Gvir's appeal to arrest Arab party leaders, bypass the attorney general and freeze the results amounted to a call for a coup d'etat. Democrats leader Yair Golan accused Zini of putting the Shin Bet at the service of Netanyahu's effort to undermine the outcome.

Yair Lapid, another opposition politician, said on Tuesday evening that government loyalists in the security apparatus were helping an attempt to "crush democracy and steal the election". Opposition figures accused Netanyahu of using those allies to retain power.

Arab parties hold pivotal seats

Neither Netanyahu nor the opposition secured a parliamentary majority. Netanyahu's bloc took 53 seats, compared with 64 in 2022, while the opposition bloc won 48. Likud remained the largest individual party, with 27 seats. A majority in the Knesset requires 61.

The two Arab-led lists together secured 19 seats, potentially giving them a decisive role in government negotiations. That surpassed their previous record of 15 in 2020, according to The Times of Israel. Al Jazeera reported that Arab turnout roughly doubled to about 80 percent, helping produce the result.

Ra'am, the Islamist party led by Mansour Abbas, won eight seats; the left-wing Joint List, led by Jabareen, took 11, according to Al Jazeera.

The parties have offered cooperation without necessarily seeking cabinet seats. Al Jazeera reported on November 2 that both would work with the opposition to remove Netanyahu. Jabareen said the Joint List would stay out of a government led by opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot but support it in parliamentary votes, allowing Eisenkot to lead a minority government with fewer than 61 seats.

Such cooperation remains contentious. Many politicians in both the opposition and Netanyahu's government have ruled out working with the Arab parties. According to Al Jazeera, the opposition bloc has made any coalition agreement with them conditional on accepting Israel as a Jewish state, supporting army conscription and denouncing Hamas as a terrorist group.

Ra'am is the only Arab party to have joined an Israeli governing coalition, doing so in 2021. That government lasted less than two years, Al Jazeera noted.

Government talks and a contest for the speakership

Many commentators expect Herzog to give Eisenkot the first opportunity to assemble a government, amid concerns that Netanyahu will try to thwart the process. The president's choice had not yet been announced in the reporting.

Under the rules described by The Times of Israel, Herzog's first nominee gets 28 days to form a government and may request a 14-day extension. If that effort fails, the president can select a second candidate, who receives 28 days without an extension. A final candidate backed by 61 Knesset members can have up to 14 days; failure at that stage would lead to another election.

Separately, the anti-Netanyahu parties, including the two Arab parties, are seeking to use their combined parliamentary majority to replace Likud's Amir Ohana as Knesset speaker, The Times of Israel reported. Yisrael Beytenu lawmaker Oded Forer and Yashar's Elazar Stern have been named as possible replacements.

Control of the speakership would allow the opposition to set the legislative agenda. That could include advancing a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, according to The Times of Israel.

The newly elected Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10, regardless of the progress of coalition negotiations, Al Jazeera reported.