Israel's election commission says no fraud found in last week's vote

Israel's election commission said Wednesday that its investigation found no evidence of fraud in last week's election, undermining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to challenge the results.

Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly alleged, without providing evidence, that Arab-led parties had "stolen" the election, potentially with help from foreign actors.

The election results showed that Netanyahu's religious-nationalist bloc had lost its parliamentary majority, while Arab-led parties made significant gains.

"The review found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results," the election commission said in a statement.

Acting election committee director Dean Livne said the investigation carefully examined every complaint but found no evidence supporting claims that the results were invalid.

He added that the results, scheduled for formal certification Wednesday, "accurately reflect the choices voters made at the ballot box."

Meanwhile, the Shin Bet intelligence service is conducting a separate investigation into allegations of foreign interference in the election, according to an election committee spokesperson.

The commission acknowledged the seriousness of claims that foreign actors might have attempted to influence the vote but maintained that any such interference had not affected the outcome.

"Even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole," committee head and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg said Sunday.

Netanyahu's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Following certification of the results, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to begin consultations Wednesday with representatives of all parties elected to parliament.

After two days of discussions, Herzog will nominate the candidate he considers most capable of forming a coalition government, likely Netanyahu or his main rival, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot.

The nomination will pave the way for weeks of coalition negotiations.

Neither Netanyahu's bloc nor Eisenkot's alliance secured the parliamentary majority required to form a government. This has raised the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals or a partnership between Eisenkot and some Arab-led parties.

If neither candidate succeeds in forming a government, Israel could hold another election early next year.