Israel’s president takes first steps on building new government after accepting election results

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accepted last week’s certified election results as legally binding and begun consultations with political parties on who should try to form a government. The decision undercuts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unsupported claims that Arab-led parties stole the vote, and opens the way for Netanyahu’s rival Gadi Eisenkot to seek power.

The elections commission said it found no evidence of fraud that compromised the vote or changed its result. An investigation into alleged foreign interference is continuing, but officials said any suspected impact was limited; neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor Eisenkot’s allies won a parliamentary majority in the 27 October election. Herzog is expected to choose between the two rivals after meeting party representatives, with eight more parties due to consult him on Thursday.