Netanyahu says 'serious suspicions' of foreign meddling in Israel vote

Netanyahu alleges foreign meddling

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday raised allegations of foreign interference in the Oct. 27 parliamentary elections, claiming that "serious suspicions" exist of foreign countries spending large sums to influence the outcome just hours after the Central Elections Committee certified the final results.

In a recorded statement reported by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Netanyahu said Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg had formally instructed the Shin Bet domestic security agency to investigate the matter thoroughly. "We must get to the full truth, without a cover-up and without delay," he said, calling for all obstacles to the inquiry to be removed while failing to name any specific countries or present evidence to support his claims.

Election officials find no irregularities

The Central Elections Committee announced earlier Wednesday that its review had discovered no irregularities suggesting the vote's integrity had been compromised or that results were altered in any way, according to the agency report. The Shin Bet separately informed the committee that further investigation was required to determine the full scale of suspected foreign funding and influence efforts targeting the electoral process.

Coalition negotiations open

Netanyahu's remarks came as President Isaac Herzog launched formal consultations with parliamentary factions regarding the formation of the next government, during which Religious Zionism and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party both recommended Netanyahu for prime minister while Yisrael Beiteinu backed opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. The prime minister renewed his call for a broad coalition including all Zionist parties willing to join his government, accusing opposition leaders of seeking to rely on "Islamist parties" that he alleged "support terrorism," as Ra'am prepared to recommend Eisenkot ahead of its Thursday meeting with Herzog.