Edition · Thu 05 Nov 2026
Geo-politics Desk
Netanyahu Cries Fraud as Herzog Weighs Who Gets the First Chance at Israel's Next Government
A week after losing his majority, Israel's prime minister is still challenging the certified result of the 27 October election, as his Shin Bet chief clashes with the attorney general and the president begins coalition talks.
By Rachel · Edited by Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
A result he will not accept
As President Trump said he would accept his party's losses in the American midterms, the leader he endorsed in Israel was doing the opposite. A week after the 27 October election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still challenging the officially certified results. He and his Likud party claim, without presenting evidence, that the vote was "stolen" by Israel's Arab parties and foreign actors.
A result he will not accept
The official count shows Mr. Netanyahu's bloc falling from 68 to 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats. The opposition, led by former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, holds 67. Nearly a third of those come from two Arab parties, the Joint List and Raam, which won 19 seats on historic turnout. Their support is decisive to any effort to replace Mr. Netanyahu, and that is why undermining their legitimacy has become the centre of his strategy.
The Shin Bet and the attorney general
The dispute deepened this week after David Zini, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service and a Netanyahu loyalist, pushed to investigate Arab party leaders. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara refused to authorise an investigation without evidence. "In a state governed by law, citizens or elected officials cannot be investigated without evidence justification," her office said.
The Shin Bet and the attorney general
The Central Elections Committee has rejected claims of widespread fraud as baseless. Its chair, Justice Noam Sohlberg, appeared with Mr. Zini and Ms. Baharav-Miara on Sunday to assure the public that the election had been conducted properly, saying that even if suspicions of foreign funding were confirmed, they would not overturn the result. On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu doubled down, saying in a video that there were "serious suspicions that foreign countries have been involved, using enormous sums of money."
Opposition fury
Mr. Eisenkot accused Likud and Mr. Netanyahu of trying "to commit a pogrom against democracy and the rule of law," and urged security officials to remember they "are servants of the kingdom, not the king." Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid called it an attempt to "steal the elections." The Joint List said Mr. Netanyahu was "clinging to power," and Raam's chairman, Mansour Abbas, called the effort "an unacceptable attempt to tarnish the Arab public."
Opposition fury
Opposition leaders are planning to use their majority to replace the Knesset speaker, and accuse Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Zini of dragging Israel into a constitutional crisis.
Herzog's moment
The next step falls to President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial but who now holds real influence. He began two days of meetings with party leaders on Wednesday to decide whether Mr. Netanyahu or a rival should get the first chance to form a coalition.
Herzog's moment
The political test will come in the weeks ahead. If Mr. Netanyahu persuades right-wing parties and possible defectors that relying on Arab parties is illegitimate, he may block the only path to his removal. But his tactics could also push a divided opposition to unite, and hasten the very outcome he is trying to prevent.