Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of the October 27 parliamentary elections as legally binding on Wednesday and launched consultations with party leaders on forming a new government.

Herzog began the consultation process on Wednesday evening to determine whom to designate to attempt to form a government — a process that could bring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents to power.

In the election, Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The centrist Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, and three other Jewish opposition parties in his bloc won 48 seats.

Two Arab-led alliances, the United Arab List and the Joint List, together won an unprecedented 19 seats following a surge in turnout among Arab voters, making them potential kingmakers. However, all but one of the Jewish parties pledged before the polls not to work with them to form a government.

The role of Israel's president is largely ceremonial, but following an election the president holds the authority to invite a Knesset member to attempt to form a government. That person is given 28 days to do so, with a potential 14-day extension. The president has wide discretion to choose someone believed to have the best chance of building a coalition and is not required to select the leader of the party with the most seats.

On Wednesday morning, Herzog received the official results from Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

"In recent days, we have heard voices trying to cast doubt on the election results and to undermine their legitimacy. This is a real danger," Sohlberg said. "One of the foundations of democracy is the ability to have a peaceful transfer of power. This stems from the understanding that the will of the electorate obligates us all."

Herzog called on party factions to show flexibility in coalition negotiations. "In order to prevent another round of elections and to build a stable and good government here for the people of Israel, I expect the factions and their representatives to understand that, in the current reality, not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled," he said.

The president also expressed confidence in the Shin Bet security service's ability to investigate allegations of foreign interference in the election and appealed for public patience.

He warned, however, against targeting Arab citizens, who make up approximately one fifth of Israel's population and often refer to themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel. "I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently. There is no place for them toward any community in Israel," he said.

Earlier, Sohlberg told the Central Elections Committee that Shin Bet intelligence appeared to point to a "widespread phenomenon involving the influx of substantial funds into Israel from foreign states", some of which were described as hostile. He said further investigation was needed to "connect the dots and determine the scale of the phenomenon with a high degree of certainty."

Reports last week indicated that the committee had been presented with a claim that Qatar had provided funding aimed at increasing voter turnout in Arab communities. Qatar's foreign ministry categorically denied the allegation.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party and a Netanyahu ally, called on the Shin Bet to arrest all Arab party leaders and interrogate them "until these suspicions are fully clarified."

Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen accused Ben-Gvir and the prime minister of attempting to "steal the election from the public."

On Tuesday, Eisenkot alleged that Netanyahu and Likud were "trying to carry out a veritable pogrom against democracy and the rule of law." His remarks came after Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected a reported demand by Shin Bet chief David Zini — a Netanyahu appointee — to interrogate four Arab politicians, stating that no evidence of wrongdoing had been presented.

Likud accused Baharav-Miara of trying to "obstruct the investigation and to cover up this serious case of manipulation of the electoral process by foreign actors."