Israel's Central Elections Committee has certified the results of last week's general election after finding no evidence of fraud, a blow to Netanyahu's efforts to discredit the vote.

The committee said a review of 9,069 polling stations found no irregularities that compromised the election's integrity or changed its results. Acting director general Dean Livne said every complaint had been examined and the results accurately reflected voters' choices.

The results were submitted to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, who will consult party leaders for two days before choosing the candidate best placed to form a coalition.

No bloc reaches 61 seats

Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 27 October vote, Eisenkot's opposition bloc won 48, and the Arab-led parties Ra'am and the Joint List secured a record 19. Neither reached the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Arab-led parties "stole" the election. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X that "the elections were stolen, the results are fraudulent, foreign countries interfered", and called for Arab party leaders to be arrested.

At the results ceremony, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, the committee's chairman, said those casting doubt posed "a real danger" to Israel's democracy. "There is one thing on which we must agree: election results, as lawfully determined, are binding on us all," he said.

Yesh Atid and Blue and White voted to ratify; Likud and Shas abstained, and Sohlberg cast the deciding vote.

The deadlock raises the possibility of a unity government or an alliance between Eisenkot and Arab-led parties. Reports say 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, against 46 for Netanyahu. The president will give a contender 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. If no one succeeds, Israel would hold another election early next year.