The Israeli Elections Committee confirmed the final results and the distribution of Knesset seats, in a vote in which 15 members supported the results, 14 abstained and two opposed; Arab and left-wing parties voted in favor while United Torah Judaism and Religious Zionism abstained. The seat distribution is: Likud 27, Yesh Atid 21, Ma'a 12, the Joint List 11, the Democrats 8, Ra'am 8, Yisrael Beiteinu 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, United Torah Judaism 7, Shas 6, and Religious Zionism 6. On that basis, President Isaac Herzog formally receives the results and today begins a round of consultations with the parties elected to the 26th Knesset ahead of tasking one candidate with forming a government, after the committee said its audit of the vote showed no violations affecting the integrity of the ballot — an implicit response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusation that Arab parties tried to steal the election.
In a related development, Haaretz reported that the Shin Bet (General Security Service) provided the Central Elections Committee with an update on suspicions of foreign interference in the elections, indicating that huge sums of money were transferred to Israel from foreign countries originating from parties with hidden and even hostile interests, aimed at promoting foreign influence. The service said funding and influence operations involving massive amounts are a widespread phenomenon whose scope exceeds thousands of people and possibly more, and called for completing information-gathering and investigation.
On the domestic political front, President Herzog expressed appreciation for the Arab community's participation in the elections and condemned racism, and spoke this morning with government legal adviser Gali Baharav-Miara, expressing his support for her. Meanwhile, Channel 7 quoted Ben-Gvir demanding that the head of the Shin Bet interrogate the heads of Arab parties in Shin Bet cellars even without the approval of the legal adviser, while Israeli police arrested last night Abdel Qader Abu Shuhada, head of the Islamic Authority in Jaffa, who according to Arab sources is a member of the National Democratic Assembly (Tajammo) party and a journalist, with estimates that his arrest is linked to suspicions about the integrity of the elections.
Externally, Hebrew media read the U.S. midterm results as a blow to Israel and America, arguing that the Republicans led by Trump losing control of Congress and the Democrats winning gives the latter broader tools of pressure on the Trump administration, especially regarding a review of unconditional military support for Israel, while the Jerusalem Post spoke of three major challenges facing Israel after a "Democratic tsunami" in America. In this context, an Israeli strategic website reported that Netanyahu announced his intention to gradually reduce U.S. security aid of about $3.8 billion annually until it stops within about a decade, while U.S. President Donald Trump said the aid will stop early next year. In another security matter, Channel 7 reported the seizure of a cigarette shipment worth hundreds of millions of shekels coming from Egypt and concealed as wheat flour at the Port of Ashdod, describing it as one of the largest smuggling operations ever, while German Deputy Defense Minister Niels Schmid stressed that arming Israel does not fuel the conflict.