Israel’s October 27 general election has ended without a clear winner, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot short of the seats needed to form a government.
Final results released by the Central Elections Committee on Friday showed that Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot won 48 seats. Both fell short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.
Arab-led parties, comprising the Joint List and Ra’am, secured a historic 19 seats, nearly doubling their previous representation and emerging as potential kingmakers in the coalition negotiations.
The results represent a major setback for Netanyahu, whose governing bloc controlled 68 seats in the outgoing parliament.
However, forming an alternative government could prove difficult for Eisenkot, as several opposition parties have ruled out working with the Arab-led parties, despite their combined seats being enough to give his bloc a parliamentary majority.
The election recorded a voter turnout of 77.9 percent, the highest since 1999, with more than 5.7 million votes cast.
Netanyahu’s allies also raised allegations of foreign interference and irregularities involving Arab parties during the campaign. However, election officials said investigations into alleged voter fraud would not affect the final results.
The results are expected to be formally presented to President Isaac Herzog on November 4. Herzog will then consult political party leaders before assigning a candidate to form the next government.
The new Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10, while failure to reach a coalition agreement could trigger another election.
The outcome leaves Israel facing fresh political uncertainty, with negotiations and possible alliances expected to determine whether Netanyahu retains power or the opposition forms a new government.
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