Institutions serve the state, not the king”: opposition accuses Netanyahu of undermining the democratic process

Israel’s Central Elections Committee has approved the final results of last week’s vote. After reviewing the matter, it rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims of widespread vote-rigging.

Netanyahu’s coalition government has lost its majority as a result of the election. The opposition accuses the prime minister of seeking to weaken the democratic process to remain in power.

The final results were delivered to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday. Before handing them over, the committee reviewed and dismissed allegations of foreign interference and vote-rigging.

According to the committee, its review found no evidence of irregularities that had undermined the integrity of the election or changed the result. Committee chair Noam Sohlberg said some suspicions remain under investigation, but they do not call the overall result into question or justify delaying its announcement.

Eisenkot, the opposition’s leading candidate, warned that efforts to undermine public confidence in the results are continuing. He also accused Netanyahu of using security institutions against political rivals.

Addressing employees of Israel’s Defense Ministry, law enforcement agencies and public administration, Eisenkot said their duty was to serve the state, not a king.

Hours earlier, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had blocked a request by the domestic security service, Shin Bet, to question four senior politicians from Palestinian parties. She based her decision on the lack of evidence of any legal violations.

Baharav-Miara said that, in a state governed by the rule of law, citizens and elected representatives cannot be subjected to questioning without evidence to justify it.

According to reports, Shin Bet director David Zini, who was appointed by Netanyahu, had sought to have the investigation into the Palestinian politicians treated as a national security matter. That would have allowed harsher measures during questioning, including preventing them from contacting lawyers.

During the campaign, Netanyahu targeted Israel’s Palestinian citizens, who make up about 20% of the population. On voting day, he began spreading claims of widespread election fraud, which election authorities have since rejected.

President Herzog has a decisive role in forming the next government: he will choose the politician who will be given the first mandate to form a governing coalition.

The mandate is expected to go to Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of the Israeli military, who lost his son in the fighting in Gaza.

All Israeli Jewish opposition parties have publicly expressed support for Eisenkot. Palestinian-led parties are also expected to back him, having said their main goal is to remove Netanyahu from power.

Nevertheless, talks to form a government could take several weeks.