Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday accepted the certified results of the October 27 Knesset elections and began consultations with parties on forming a new government.
The move came even as incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again alleged “foreign interference” in the parliamentary polls despite Israel's election commission stating that it found "no evidence" of irregularities.
Since Herzog received the official results on November 4, he now has seven days to complete the consultations and assign the task of forming a government under Israeli law. This means that parties must stake their claims by November 11.
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President Herzog's consultations with parties
More than a week after the October 27 vote, President Isaac Herzog began consultations with party leaders after accepting the official election results. With neither the Netanyahu-led bloc nor his rival Gadi Eisenkot-led bloc achieving a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Herzog urged both sides to accept the reality.
He asked parties to understand that "not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled" and to avoid new elections.
{{/usCountry}}He asked parties to understand that "not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled" and to avoid new elections.
{{/usCountry}}"In the current reality, in which there is no clear winner after the elections, I ask for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill, so that the State of Israel emerges the winner," Herzog said during a press conference.
During consultations, he also slammed the rejection remarks against Arab parties, which delivered a surprising performance in this election. "I condemn the coarseness and racist expression that we have heard recently," he added.
Even as Herzog began a series of sit-downs with political parties on Wednesday night, questions remain about the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals -- Netanyahu and Eisenkot -- or between Eisenkot and some of the Arab parties.
Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, and Shas recommended that the incumbent PM be given a chance to form a coalition government. Meanwhile, Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman -- a former Netanyahu ally-turned-rival -- recommended Eisenkot.
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According to the Times of Israel, Yashar, the Democrats, B'Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and Ra'am had said that they would recommend Eisenkot.
Arab-led Joint List had reportedly not confirmed whether it would back Eisenkot as of Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, the Degel HaTorah faction of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism confirmed that it would not endorse any candidate for the top office. The faction holds four of UTJ's seven Knesset seats and includes the party's overall chairman, MK Yaakov Asher, the Times of Israel reported.
Degel HaTorah said that its decision came after instructions from its spiritual leaders, Rabbis Dov Lando and Moshe Hillel Hirsch.
The other three UTJ lawmakers who are seated in the Knesset belong to the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction, which has also not yet made clear whether it would recommend a candidate or abstain from endorsing one.
Talks to resume
On Thursday, eight parties, including the two Arab-led factions, are set to meet Herzog. Netanyahu's Likud and Eisenkot's Yashar party are scheduled to speak at the end. The consultations are due to begin at 8:30am (local time) with United Torah Judaism.
Eisenkot is reportedly widely expected to receive the mandate to form a government, as Wednesday night's recommendations gave him a clear lead after the Arab-led Ra'am party announced that it would back him.
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By the end of the talks, Eisenkot is expected to have received at least 56 recommendations, while Netanyahu is expected to have 53, the Times of Israel reported.
If Eisenkot receives the mandate, he will have up to 42 days to form a coalition. However, that may be a difficult task, considering the opposition within his bloc to working with both the Arab and the Haredi parties.
Netanyahu's fresh interference allegations; poll body's rejection
Incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday once again alleged "serious suspicions" of foreign interference in the October 27 elections.
The fresh allegations came despite Israel's election commission clarifying that it found "no evidence" of any such interference.
In a video message, Netanyahu said, "There are serious suspicions that foreign states have spent considerable sums to influence the outcome of the elections in Israel."
He also supported an investigation ordered by the Central Elections Committee chairman, Justice Noam Solberg, and called for all barriers to be removed so authorities could establish the facts. "We must get to the full truth, without cover-ups and without delays," he added.
Additionally, Netanyahu also warned that "extremist Islam" threatens Israel's security and Jewish identity, accusing opposition leaders of trying to form a government with parties he described as supporters of terrorism.
The incumbent PM called for a broad national government led by his Likud party. He said that a government dependent on Islamist parties would not be able to protect Israel from its enemies.
Israel's acting CEC Director General Dean Livne rejected allegations of fraud and said that the Knesset elections were conducted lawfully.
"The integrity of the elections at polling stations was rigorously safeguarded, and to the best of our knowledge, there is no basis for allegations of systematic violations of election integrity,” Livne said.
Additionally, a separate investigation into allegations of foreign interference is being conducted by the Shin Bet intelligence service, headed by David Zini, a Netanyahu loyalist. Shin Bet's probe is still ongoing.
Shin Bet reportedly believes that there has been a "widespread phenomenon involving the influx of substantial funds into Israel from foreign states." However, it did not provide any evidence for this assertion.
The Shin Bet has also sought approval from Israel's attorney general to interrogate several elected officials, including Ra'am party leader Mansour Abbas and other senior Arab lawmakers, as part of its probe, Israeli media reported.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, however, rejected the request, saying, "It is not permissible to interrogate citizens or elected officials without evidence to justify such action."
The Joint List condemned the request and termed it a "campaign of incitement" by Netanyahu and his allies to delegitimise the Arab vote.