The Israeli President begins consultations with the parties to form the government after no camp won a majority

Israeli President Isaac Herzog began consultations with political parties regarding who will be tasked with forming a new coalition government, after he received the official results of the general elections that took place last week, which he said did not have a clear winner.

Herzog told party leaders that "every commitment and promise cannot be kept" if they want to avoid new elections.

Neither the bloc of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his rival Gadi Eisenkot obtained a majority in parliament.

Earlier, election officials said there was no evidence of irregularities, and that unfounded claims by Netanyahu's camp that Arab-led parties "stole" the election did not justify delaying the certification of the results.

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The General Security Agency (Shin Bet) is investigating allegations of foreign interference in the elections, but the head of the Central Elections Commission confirmed that these allegations will not fundamentally change the result.

In the October 27 elections, Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The centrist Yashar Party, led by Eisenkot, and three other Jewish opposition parties within its bloc, won 48 seats.

Two Arab-led coalitions, the United Arab List and the Joint List, achieved an unprecedented victory of 19 seats after high Arab voter turnout.

This makes them “potential kingmakers.” However, all but one of the Jewish parties pledged before the elections not to cooperate with them to form a government.

The role of Israel's president is largely ceremonial, but after the elections, he invites a member of the Knesset to form a government. This person is given 28 days to do so, with the possibility of extending it for an additional 14 days.

The president has broad powers to choose the person he believes is best suited to form a coalition. He is not obligated to choose the leader of the party with the largest number of seats.

On Wednesday morning, Herzog received the official results from the head of the Central Elections Commission, Judge Noam Solberg, at a ceremony held in Jerusalem.

“In recent days, we have heard voices trying to cast doubt on the election results and undermine their legitimacy,” Solberg said. “This is a real danger.”

He added: “One of the pillars of democracy is the ability to peacefully transfer power. This stems from the understanding that the will of the voters binds us all.”

Herzog had announced that he would begin the consultation process on Wednesday evening.

He said: “In order to prevent another round of elections and build a stable and good government here for the people of Israel, I expect the parties and their representatives to understand that in the current reality, not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled.”

The president also expressed his confidence in the ability of the General Security Agency (Shin Bet) to investigate allegations of foreign interference in the elections, and appealed to everyone to be patient.

But he warned that Israeli Arabs — who make up about a fifth of the population and often refer to themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel — “should not be subject to demonization.”

He said: "I condemn the rudeness and racist expressions that we have heard recently. They have no place towards any group of society in Israel."

Earlier, Solberg said at a meeting of the Central Elections Committee that information from the General Security Agency (Shin Bet) seemed to indicate “a wide-ranging phenomenon that includes the flow of large funds to Israel from foreign countries, some of which are hostile.”

He said he believes further investigation is needed "to connect the dots and quantify the magnitude of the phenomenon with a high degree of certainty."

Israeli media reported last week that the committee received an allegation that Qatar provided funding aimed at increasing voter turnout in Arab societies. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically denied this allegation.