Herzog Begins Coalition Consultations as Knesset Election Results Are Finalized
Israeli President Isaac Herzog begins coalition consultations after the Central Election Committee officially approved the 26th Knesset election results, amid ongoing probes into foreign funding.
President Isaac Herzog is set to begin a formal round of consultations with party representatives to determine who will receive the mandate to form the next government. The meetings at the President's Residence follow the Central Election Committee's formal approval of the final results for the 26th Knesset elections, announced earlier by Committee Chairman Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg.
Justice Solberg presented the official election results to the president, emphasizing that the democratic rules of the game must be respected despite political turbulence. While the committee approved the final tally, it addressed ongoing investigations into foreign funding and alleged election interference. Solberg noted that intelligence provided by the Shin Bet indicates extensive financial flows into Israel from foreign entities attempting to influence the political process. However, he stressed that these suspicions do not undermine the overall legitimacy of the elections or warrant delaying the official results.
The final mandate distribution for the 26th Knesset stands as follows: Likud secured 27 seats, Yashar obtained 21, BeYachad won 12, the Joint List holds 11, The Democrats and Ra'am have 8 seats each, while Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit, and United Torah Judaism secured 7 seats each. Shas and Religious Zionism finish with 6 seats each.
Following the publication of the results, parties have a two-week window to file petitions with the Jerusalem District Court. Meanwhile, the political landscape remains tense as parties prepare for coalition talks at the President's Residence, amid calls from various factions to thoroughly investigate foreign interference before the next government takes shape.
