Israel's president accepts election results, begins coalition talks

Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of last week's election on Wednesday and announced he would begin consultations with party representatives to form a new government. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party nor challenger Gadi Eisenkot's secured a parliamentary majority, prompting hard-fought negotiations with smaller parties. Israel's election commission found no fraud, rejecting Netanyahu's unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties had "stolen" the vote. The results showed Netanyahu's religious-nationalist bloc losing its majority while Arab-led parties gained. Herzog will meet with parties over two days before selecting a candidate to build a coalition, with possibilities including an alliance between rivals or a new election early next year.