Israel's election commission finds no evidence of fraud, dealing a blow to Netanyahu's claims the vote was 'stolen'

From the Newshound archive · first published 4 November 2026.

Israel's Central Elections Committee announced it had found no voting irregularities that compromised the integrity of last week's ballot, directly undermining Netanyahu's repeated claims that Arab-led parties had stolen the result. The certified tally shows his religious-nationalist bloc falling short of a parliamentary majority, with Arab-led parties posting significant gains.

President Isaac Herzog will now consult all elected parties over two days before deciding who receives the mandate to form a government — Netanyahu or rival Gadi Eisenkot.

A separate Shin Bet intelligence investigation into alleged foreign interference in the election remains ongoing.

Neither bloc secured a majority, leaving weeks of coalition negotiations ahead with no clear path to a stable government.