Election Commission: Netanyahu’s Fraud Claims Rejected After Vote Loss

Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to retain power after losing his governing majority faced a sharp legal and administrative setback on Wednesday. Israel’s Central Elections Committee formally rejected the prime minister’s claims of widespread voting fraud and foreign interference. The commission handed the final results to President Isaac Herzog, confirming that no evidence of irregularities compromised the election’s integrity.

The commission’s chair, Noam Sohlberg, stated that while some suspicions remained under investigation, they did not justify delaying the announcement of results. This decision stands in direct contrast to Netanyahu’s narrative, which promoted unfounded accusations of mass fraud immediately following the vote. The rejection of these claims removes the primary institutional basis for the prime minister to challenge the outcome.

Simultaneously, a dispute between the legal and security branches highlighted the tension in the political crisis. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara blocked a demand from the Shin Bet security service to interrogate senior politicians from Palestinian-led parties. Baharav-Miara stated that no evidence of wrongdoing had been presented to justify the interviews. She emphasized that in a country governed by the rule of law, elected officials cannot be interrogated without such justification.

The Shin Bet chief, David Zini, had ordered the interrogations and sought to classify the investigation as a security file. This classification would have allowed for harsher conditions, including barring the politicians from having legal counsel. The targeted individuals included Ahmad Tibi, a prominent Palestinian politician. Tibi responded to the news with a pointed comment on social media, noting the irony of the attorney general checking for ties between the Joint List and US Democrats. He described the suspected method as people arriving at polling stations, casting a slip, and going home.

Gadi Eisenkot, the main challenger to Netanyahu, condemned the prime minister’s tactics. He described the attempts to discredit valid votes and weaponize security forces as a "pogrom against democracy." Eisenkot, a former military leader, secured the support of all Jewish Israeli opposition parties. Palestinian-led parties also signaled their intent to back him, citing their priority of removing Netanyahu from office. Herzog is expected to name Eisenkot as the candidate to form the next government, with an announcement possible as early as Thursday evening.

President Herzog used the handover of results to address the social climate surrounding the vote. He denounced the racist attacks on Palestinian citizens, who turned out to vote at historic rates. Herzog stated that he holds Arab society in Israel in great respect and values its contribution to the country. He specifically condemned the coarseness and racist expressions heard in recent days.

Eisenkot warned that efforts to undermine trust in the election results would continue. He accused the administration of treating state employees as servants of the prime minister rather than the state. In a statement, he said, "Woe to anyone who abuses their authority and role for political considerations." Journalist Nadav Eyal observed that the groundwork for further attempts to dismiss the results is being laid. He wrote that the current events represent the foundation of Israel’s legal and governmental orders.