Israeli President Ratifies Election Results, Starts Coalition Talks Despite Netanyahu Objections

Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially ratified the results of last week's Knesset elections as legally binding on Wednesday and began consultations with party representatives on forming a new government. The move dealt a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to challenge the election's integrity, in which he and his allies lost their parliamentary majority. Herzog stated "the elections are over" and "now is the time to face reality," as he initiated talks with party leaders to determine who will be tasked with forming a government, a process that could bring Netanyahu's opponents to power. Netanyahu and his supporters have repeated unsubstantiated claims that Arab parties "stole" the election, possibly with foreign assistance. Israel's Central Elections Committee said earlier Wednesday that after a thorough investigation of all party allegations of fraud, it found no evidence of violations affecting the election's integrity or results. Arab parties achieved historic gains in the vote, while Likud, Netanyahu's party, did not respond to a request for comment.