{"id":9314,"date":"2026-11-04T20:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T20:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/04\/israeli-president-accepts-election-results-begins-talks-on-new-government-national-globalnews-ca\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T20:45:59","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T20:45:59","slug":"israeli-president-accepts-election-results-begins-talks-on-new-government-national-globalnews-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/04\/israeli-president-accepts-election-results-begins-talks-on-new-government-national-globalnews-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli president accepts election results, begins talks on new government – National | Globalnews.ca"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday accepted the certified results<\/a> of last week\u2019s parliamentary elections<\/a> as legally binding and began consultations with party representatives on forming a new government.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The move dealt a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s efforts to discredit the vote, in which he and his allies lost their majority in parliament, known as the Knesset, while Arab-led parties made historic gains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe elections are over. Now is the time to face reality,\u201d Herzog said.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties had \u201cstolen\u201d the election, possibly with foreign assistance.<\/p>\n

Herzog began consultations with party leaders on Wednesday night to determine whom to designate to form a government \u2014 a process that could bring Netanyahu\u2019s opponents to power.<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tCommission finds no fraud in Israel’s election\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Israel\u2019s elections commission said earlier on Wednesday that after a thorough investigation of all parties\u2019 claims of fraud, it had found \u201cno evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

A separate investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence service, which is headed by David Zini, a Netanyahu appointee and loyalist, into allegations of foreign interference in the election is still ongoing.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

In a private meeting Wednesday of the elections committee\u2019s members, its head, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, read out an intelligence assessment from the Shin Bet saying the agency believed there had been a \u201cwidespread phenomenon involving the influx of substantial funds into Israel from foreign states,\u201d including from countries hostile toward Israel.<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The Shin Bet provided no evidence to explain its assertion. The Associated Press obtained a transcript of the assessment from a person who attended the meeting and requested anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Get\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n

Get daily National news<\/h2>\n

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The committee has previously said that while claims about foreign actors seeking to influence the election are serious and under investigation, it does not believe that any such interference affected the results \u2014 even if it had happened.<\/p>\n

Sohlberg reiterated that stance on Wednesday. \u201cAt this stage, these are merely suspicions, and even if they are substantiated, the scope of their potential impact is limited,\u201d he said during a ceremony to present the certified election results to Herzog.<\/p>\n

Sohlberg added that it was dangerous to cast doubt on the results and said they are legally binding.<\/p>\n

Public trust in the electoral process is \u201ceasy to destroy, yet very difficult to repair,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tConsultations kick off coalition-building process\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

In the Oct. 27 vote, neither Netanyahu\u2019s bloc nor the bloc of allies of his chief rival, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, secured a parliamentary majority needed to form a new government, raising the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals or an alliance between Eisenkot and some of the Arab-led parties.<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Herzog began a series of sit-downs with political parties on Wednesday. Three factions \u2014 all aligned with Netanyahu\u2019s religious-nationalist base \u2014 recommended Netanyahu be given a chance to form a coalition government, while a fourth \u2014 led by a former Netanyahu ally turned rival \u2014 recommended Eisenkot. Eight more parties, including the two Arab-led factions, are scheduled to meet Herzog on Thursday, with Eisenkot\u2019s Yashar and Netanyahu\u2019s Likud speaking last.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t