Israel Election Panel Rejects Netanyahu Fraud Claims

Jerusalem (GNP): Israel’s Central Elections Committee has confirmed the final results of last week’s national vote and rejected claims of mass fraud made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies. The decision removes the legal basis for challenging a result that left his far-right coalition without a governing majority.

The committee said its review found no irregularities that threatened the integrity of the election or changed its outcome. It had looked at allegations of voter fraud and foreign interference, and it presented the certified results to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday. Its chairman, Noam Sohlberg, said some suspicions are still being investigated but do not justify delaying the results or cast doubt on the election as a whole.

The numbers explain why the dispute matters. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats and the opposition, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, won 48, so neither side can form a government alone in the 120-seat Knesset. The Arab-led parties Ra’am and the Joint List together won 19 seats, which makes them decisive in any coalition.

The fraud claims focused on voting in the Arab community, which represents about 20 percent of Israel’s population. Netanyahu began promoting them on election day, and some far-right allies have refused to accept the committee’s findings.

The dispute widened further when the government’s own legal officials stepped in. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said she had blocked a request from the Shin Bet security service to question senior politicians from the Arab-led parties, because she had seen no evidence of wrongdoing. She said that in a country under the rule of law, neither citizens nor elected officials can be questioned without evidence that justifies it.

The request reportedly covered four politicians, among them Ahmad Tibi, and it came from Shin Bet chief David Zini, whom Netanyahu chose for the job. Zini also sought to treat the case as a security file, which would have allowed harsher conditions, including denying the politicians access to a lawyer. The plan became public after a news report, and the attorney general acted soon afterward.

Eisenkot responded by accusing Netanyahu of attacking democracy to hold on to power. He said the prime minister was trying to discredit valid votes and use the security services against domestic rivals. Officials in the defense ministry, law enforcement and the civil service serve the state, not a ruler, he said, and he warned that anyone who abuses their authority for political reasons would pay for it.

Other voices echoed that alarm. Israeli commentator Nadav Eyal warned that more extreme efforts to dismiss the results and undermine the leading opposition parties are likely, and he said the country’s legal and governmental foundations are under pressure. Tibi answered the latest claims with sarcasm, joking that the attorney general was investigating a link between his party and US Democrats because both groups won by having voters turn out in large numbers.

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The attention now turns to Herzog, who will decide which politician gets the first chance to form a government. He opened consultations with party leaders after receiving the results, and he is expected to name Eisenkot, possibly as soon as Thursday evening. Ra’am has said it will recommend Eisenkot, and the Joint List, which says its priority is removing Netanyahu, is also expected to back him.

Eisenkot enters those talks with strong credentials. He is a former head of the Israeli military who lost a son fighting in Gaza, and all the Jewish opposition parties have publicly backed him. Even so, negotiations could take weeks, and if neither he nor Netanyahu can reach the 61 seats needed for a majority, another election could follow early next year.

Herzog also addressed the tone of the campaign when he received the results. He praised the Arab citizens who voted in record numbers, saying he respected their contribution to the country and their wish to take part fully in national life. Herzog said, “I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently.”