JERUSALEM, Israel — Israel’s election commission has found no evidence of fraud in the country’s parliamentary election, rejecting claims by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Arab-led parties stole votes.
The Central Elections Committee announced its findings on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. It also certified the results of the October 27 election.
The decision confirms that Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his parliamentary majority after Arab-led parties made historic gains.
President Isaac Herzog has accepted the results and will begin consultations to determine who should form the next government.
The findings undermine Netanyahu’s repeated accusations that the election was manipulated, possibly with foreign assistance.
Election Commission Finds No Evidence of Fraud
The commission said it had examined complaints concerning voting irregularities across the country.
Its investigation covered 9,069 polling stations.
The review found no evidence that wrongdoing had affected the election results.
“The review found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results,” the commission said in a statement.
Dean Livne, the commission’s acting director-general, said officials had carefully investigated every complaint.
He said the findings confirmed that the results accurately represented voters’ choices.
The commission subsequently approved the results despite objections from Netanyahu’s political allies.
Representatives of his Likud party and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party abstained from the certification vote.
Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the commission, voted to approve the results alongside representatives of opposition parties.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Likud is considering a legal appeal against the certification.
Arab-Led Parties Make Historic Gains
The October election produced a setback for Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition.
His political bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, falling short of the 61 required to govern.
The opposition bloc associated with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats.
Arab-led parties secured a record 19 seats, compared with 10 in the previous parliament.
Their gains have made them important participants in negotiations over the next government.
Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly accused the Arab-led parties of manipulating the election.
His Likud party claimed that the vote had been stolen and suggested that foreign governments or organisations might have financed efforts to influence Arab voters.
The party linked its allegations to reports of suspected vote-buying and a separate investigation into possible foreign interference.
No evidence has been publicly established connecting those allegations to widespread electoral fraud.
Election authorities have maintained that the results remain valid.
Security Agency Continues Separate Investigation
Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, is continuing an investigation into allegations that foreign actors attempted to influence the election.
The agency is led by David Zini, who was appointed by Netanyahu.
According to the Associated Press, Shin Bet officials presented an intelligence assessment alleging that substantial sums of money had entered Israel from foreign countries, including states considered hostile to the country.
The agency suggested that the funds might have been intended to influence political activities.
However, it did not publicly provide evidence supporting those claims.
Sohlberg said the allegations remained under investigation but did not justify questioning the validity of the election.
Even if some suspicions were eventually substantiated, he said, their potential effect would not undermine the overall results.
The distinction leaves the security investigation open while allowing the formation of a new government to proceed.
Attorney General Blocks Interrogation of Arab Politicians
The dispute intensified after Shin Bet sought permission to question several elected officials from Arab-led parties.
The politicians reportedly included Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra’am party.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected the request because investigators had not presented sufficient evidence to justify questioning them.
She said law enforcement agencies could not interrogate citizens or elected officials without a lawful evidential basis.
The Joint List, an alliance of Arab-led parties, accused Netanyahu and his supporters of attempting to discredit Arab voters.
The controversy also prompted criticism from opposition politicians who accused the prime minister of seeking to remain in office by challenging an election result unfavourable to his coalition.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right ally of Netanyahu, rejected the commission’s conclusions.
He called for the arrest and interrogation of Arab party leaders while allegations of foreign interference remained under investigation.
The demand did not result in the arrests he sought.
President Herzog Begins Government Formation Talks
With the results certified, responsibility for the next stage of the political process has passed to President Isaac Herzog.
Under Israel’s parliamentary system, the president consults political parties before selecting a candidate to attempt to form a government.
That candidate must assemble sufficient parliamentary support to command a majority in the Knesset.
Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor Eisenkot’s opposition alliance secured enough seats to govern independently.
The outcome has opened the possibility of negotiations involving the Arab-led parties.
A coalition between Eisenkot’s supporters and some of those parties could provide an alternative to another Netanyahu-led administration.
Other combinations remain possible, including agreements involving parties that previously supported the prime minister.
Herzog has urged political leaders to respect the election results and find a workable governing arrangement.
He also condemned inflammatory statements directed at Arab citizens following the vote.
The president said Arab voters should not be collectively accused of wrongdoing because of unsubstantiated allegations.
Netanyahu Faces Uncertain Political Future
Netanyahu has governed Israel for much of the past three decades.
His latest election campaign took place amid divisions over the wars in Gaza and Iran, relations with the United States, and his government’s domestic policies.
The loss of his parliamentary majority has placed his political future in question.
However, the election results do not automatically remove him from office.
He can remain prime minister while efforts to form a new government continue under Israel’s constitutional procedures.
If no candidate succeeds in securing a governing majority, Israel could face another election early next year.
For now, the election commission’s findings have removed the basis for withholding certification because of the fraud allegations it examined.
The certified results confirm the loss of Netanyahu’s governing majority and the increased parliamentary representation of Arab-led parties.
The next decision rests with Herzog and the political leaders seeking to assemble a government.
Suggested Photo Caption: Israeli President Isaac Herzog receives the official results of Is
