The political crisis that started after the parliamentary elections held in Israel on October 27 has entered a new phase.
President Isaac Herzog announced that he considered the election results certified by the Central Electoral Commission to be legally binding.
Herzog's decision followed attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose alliance of religious and nationalist parties lost a majority in the election, to question the legitimacy of the results.
Netanyahu and his supporters claimed that Arab parties changed the election results with foreign support, but could not provide concrete evidence confirming their claims.
Israel's Central Election Commission announced that allegations of fraud in the elections were thoroughly examined and no irregularities affecting the results were found.
In the statement of the commission, it was stated that no findings were found that damaged the reliability of the elections or changed their results.
Commission President and Supreme Court Judge Noam Sohlberg emphasized that the election results are legally binding and warned that questioning their legitimacy could have dangerous consequences.
Sohlberg stated that public trust in the election process can be easily destroyed, but is extremely difficult to reestablish.
NETANYAHU LOST THE MAJORITY IN THE PARLIAMENT
The results announced after the elections in Israel revealed that the alliance led by Netanyahu could not reach the 61 seats required to form a government in the 120-seat parliament.
According to the election results, the bloc led by Netanyahu won 53 seats, and the bloc consisting of the allies of the main opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats.
Arab parties Ra'am and Joint List achieved a historic gain by gaining a total of 19 seats.
The fact that no political bloc could reach the majority on its own made coalition negotiations necessary for the formation of a new government in Israel.
After the election results are officially accepted, President Herzog is expected to begin negotiations with representatives of political parties.
Following the talks, Herzog will nominate a candidate as prime minister who he believes can provide the support of the majority to form a government.
It is on the agenda to give this task to Netanyahu or opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot.
Possible options include a unity government formed by Netanyahu and Eisenkot, or Eisenkot forming a government with the support of Arab parties.
If coalition talks fail to yield results, Israel may hold new elections early next year.
CLAIM OF FOREIGN INTERVENTION FROM THE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
Although the Electoral Commission certified the results, Israel's domestic intelligence service, Shin Bet, continues its investigation into allegations that foreign countries interfered in the elections.
Shin Bet, headed by David Zini, who was appointed by Netanyahu, claimed that there was intelligence that large amounts of money were transferred from foreign countries to Israel.
According to the minutes of the meeting obtained by the Associated Press, the intelligence assessment that Sohlberg conveyed to the commission members claimed that there was a significant amount of money inflow from foreign states, including countries hostile to Israel.
However, Shin Bet did not share concrete evidence supporting these claims with the public.
Sohlberg stated that the allegations are still at the suspicion stage and even if they are confirmed, their possible impact on the election results will be limited.
It was also revealed that Shin Bet attempted to interrogate some Arab politicians within the scope of its investigation.
According to the Israeli press, the intelligence service requested permission from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to interrogate some elected politicians, including Ra'am Party leader Mansour Abbas.
However, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected the request, stating that citizens or elected officials cannot be questioned without concrete evidence.
The Joint List, formed by Arab parties, described the initiative as a provocation campaign by Netanyahu and his allies aimed at portraying the votes of Arab voters as illegitimate.
CALL FROM BEN-GVIR FOR THE ARREST OF ARAB POLITICIANS
Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of Netanyahu's far-right allies, opposed the Election Commission's decision to consider the results valid.
Ben-Gvir called on Shin Bet to detain all leaders of Arab political parties and interrogate them in the intelligence service's interrogation centers until the allegations are clarified.
Ben-Gvir's statement brought the discussions of increasing political pressure on Arab politicians after the elections to the agenda again.
President Herzog stated that allegations of foreign interference in the elections should be investigated, but called for Arab voters in Israel not to be targeted.
Emphasizing that the Arab community should not be blamed for the election investigation, Herzog said, "I condemn the rude and racist statements we have heard recently."
Herzog stated that all communities in the country should be respected and called on political leaders to accept the election results and compromise to form a new government.
