Israel's president takes first steps on building new government after accepting election results

Key Points:

• Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accepted the certified results of the recent parliamentary elections as legally binding and initiated consultations with party leaders to form a new government, rejecting Prime Minister Netanyahu's attempts to discredit the vote.
• The elections commission found no evidence of fraud or irregularities affecting the election results, despite ongoing investigations by the Shin Bet intelligence service into alleged foreign interference.
• Herzog's consultations revealed mixed recommendations: some factions aligned with Netanyahu support him forming a government, while others back opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, with the possibility of alliances including Arab-led parties.
• The Shin Bet's request to interrogate senior Arab lawmakers was denied by the attorney general due to lack of evidence, amid accusations from Arab parties that Netanyahu's camp is attempting to delegitimize Arab voters.
• Herzog condemned racist rhetoric surrounding the election and emphasized the importance of proceeding with the foreign interference investigation without smearing Arab Israeli voters.