JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday accepted the certified results of last week’s parliamentary elections as legally binding and began consultations with party representatives to form a new government. The move dealt a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to discredit the vote, in which he and his allies lost their majority in parliament, known as the Knesset, while Arab-led parties made historic gains. WATCH: What’s next for Israel after the election produces political gridlock “The elections are over. Now it’s time to face reality,” Herzog said. Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties had “stolen” the election, possibly with foreign help. Herzog began consultations with party leaders on Wednesday night to determine who to appoint to form a government, a process that could bring Netanyahu’s opponents to power. Commission finds no fraud in Israel elections Israel’s electoral commission said earlier on Wednesday that after a thorough investigation into allegations of fraud by all parties, it had found “no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the elections or affected their results.” Netanyahu’s Likud party did not respond to a request for comment. A separate investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence service, headed by Netanyahu appointee and loyalist David Zini, into allegations of foreign interference in the election is still ongoing. At a private meeting Wednesday of election committee members, its chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, read a Shin Bet intelligence assessment that said the agency believed there had been a “widespread phenomenon involving the influx of substantial funds into Israel from foreign states,” including countries hostile to Israel. READ MORE: Israeli officials say election will stand after Netanyahu claims Arabs stole votes The Shin Bet did not provide evidence to explain its claim. The Associated Press obtained a transcript of the evaluation from a person who attended the meeting and requested anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting. The committee has previously said that while allegations about foreign actors seeking to influence the election are serious and under investigation, it does not believe such interference would have affected the results even if it had happened. Sohlberg reiterated that stance Wednesday. “At this point they are mere suspicions, and even if they are confirmed, the scope of their potential impact is limited,” he said during the ceremony presenting the certified election results to Herzog. Sohlberg added that it was dangerous to question the results and said they are legally binding. Public confidence in the electoral process is “easy to destroy, but very difficult to repair,” he warned. Consultations begin coalition-building process In the Oct. 27 vote, neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the bloc of allies of his main rival, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, obtained the parliamentary majority needed to form a new government, raising the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals or an alliance between Eisenkot and some of the Arab-led parties. Herzog began a series of meetings with political parties on Wednesday. Three factions, all aligned with Netanyahu’s religious nationalist base, recommended that Netanyahu be given the opportunity to form a coalition government, while a fourth, led by a former Netanyahu ally turned rival, recommended Eisenkot. Eight more parties, including the two Arab-led factions, are scheduled to meet with Herzog on Thursday, with Eisenkot’s Yashar and Netanyahu’s Likud the last to speak. VIDEO: Projections show no clear winner in Israel election After consultations, Herzog will choose the candidate (most likely Netanyahu or Eisenkot) who, in his opinion, will have the best chance of forming a coalition government. He has several days to announce his decision, which will then set the stage for weeks of negotiations. If neither man manages to form a government, the country would hold new elections early next year. Intelligence agency’s request to question top Arab lawmakers rejected The Shin Bet sought approval from Israel’s attorney general on Tuesday to question several elected officials as part of its separate investigation, including Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas and other top Arab lawmakers, Israeli media reported. In a statement rejecting the request, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said: “It is not permissible to interrogate citizens or elected officials without evidence justifying such action.” WATCH: Retired Israeli general on what the election results tell us The Joint List of Arab parties condemned the request, calling it an “incitement campaign” by Netanyahu and his allies designed to delegitimize the Arab vote. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right ally of Netanyahu, called on the Shin Bet, over which he has no authority, to “arrest all leaders of Arab political parties” and interrogate them in “basement interrogation cells until these suspicions are completely cleared up.” Herzog said Wednesday that the Shin Bet investigation into possible foreign interference should continue, but warned that Israeli Arab voters “must not be defamed.” “I condemn the rudeness and racist expressions we have heard recently,” Herzog said. Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. 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