No evidence of fraud in Israeli election, commission finds

Israel's election commission says it has found no evidence of fraud in last week's vote despite repeated claims to the contrary from Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister accused Arab-led parties of stealing the election, which resulted in neither major bloc earning a parliamentary majority. What's next? The election results are set to be formally certified and negotiations on the formation of government will follow. Israel's election commission says it has found no evidence of fraud in the general election that saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist bloc losing its parliamentary majority. Opposition Leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc also failed to secure a parliamentary majority, which is needed to form a new government. Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, up from 10 seats in the previous election. Mr Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the Arab-led parties stole the election, possibly with foreign assistance. "The review found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results," the election commission said in a statement. Elections committee acting director Dean Livne said the investigation examined every complaint "individually and thoroughly" but found no evidence to support allegations that the election results were invalid. The results "accurately reflect the choices voters made at the ballot box," Mr Livne said. A separate investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence service into allegations of foreign interference is ongoing, according to a spokesperson for the elections committee. The results are set to be formally certified on Wednesday and Israel's President Isaac Herzog will then meet with each of the parties elected to parliament. Following two days of consultations, he will choose the candidate — most likely Mr Netanyahu or Mr Eisenkot — he believes is best positioned to form a coalition government, setting the stage for weeks of negotiations. The deadlock between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Eisenkot raises the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals, or an alliance between Mr Eisenkot and some of the Arab-led parties. If neither man can put together a government, the country will hold another election early next year.