JERUSALEM — Israel's election results will stand even if suspicions of foreign interference are substantiated, the head of the Central Elections Committee said on Sunday, in a joint video appearance with the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency and the attorney general that amounted to the state's most senior officials closing ranks behind the October 27 vote.

Source: Associated Press

"Our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole," committee chairman Noam Sohlberg, a Supreme Court justice, said. The Shin Bet has opened an investigation, at the election commission's request, into claims of foreign funding intended to influence the vote.

Source: AFP via Barbados Gazette

A claim Awaaz Punjab has followed since October 28

The statement is the latest step in a dispute this newsroom has reported since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party first alleged on October 28 that Arab-led parties had "stolen" the election and accepted funding from Qatar — a claim made without evidence, which Qatar has rejected as a disinformation campaign. Israeli police said on October 29 that they had found no evidence behind the claim as the final count neared. The count left Netanyahu's bloc on 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, down from a peak of 68 in the outgoing parliament, while the bloc led by his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 and Arab-led parties won a record 19, putting them in a potential kingmaker position.

Eisenkot on Sunday accused Netanyahu of launching an "orchestrated and organised campaign to delegitimise the results." Likud responded by asking how the committee chief could acknowledge serious allegations while saying they would have no effect on the final outcome.

Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Court moves, and what happens next

In a related case, police on Sunday released two of three political activists arrested before polls opened carrying envelopes of cash, allegedly to bribe voters; police said the suspects were connected to the Arab-led Ra'am party, which won eight seats and has denied involvement. A judge questioned or rejected police requests for further restrictions: one suspect was released subject to conditions, another was ordered to remain under house arrest for eight days, and the third's detention was extended by two days. Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas denounced the arrests as undemocratic and "an attempt to influence the election results."

The results are due to be officially certified this week — the committee's official announcement is scheduled for November 4, with a November 18 deadline for legal objections — after which President Isaac Herzog will begin meeting each party to hear whom it recommends as prime minister, and will then nominate the candidate he judges most likely to form a coalition. If those talks fail, Herzog can turn to another candidate; failing that, Israel would face a new election early next year.