Israel’s final election count left both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot short of the 61 seats needed to form a government, setting up weeks of coalition bargaining and political uncertainty.
Netanyahu’s Likud party and its hard-right allies won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, according to the Central Elections Committee, short of the 61 needed for a majority and down from 64 seats in the 2022 election. The main opposition bloc, led by Eisenkot, won 48 seats, also falling short of a majority, according to CNBC.
The outcome leaves Eisenkot facing a difficult coalition path. Most parties in his bloc have rejected relying on Arab-led parties, while Eisenkot has said neither meets his conditions for a partnership. The Joint List and Ra’am won a combined 19 seats, an all-time high for Arab-led parties.
Netanyahu’s party has intensified claims that the Arab-led parties “stole” the election, amplifying an allegation that spread after exit polls showed the prime minister’s bloc had suffered a setback. Likud asserted Thursday, without evidence, that foreign interference was “aimed at facilitating a foreign takeover of the Knesset, the Islamization of Israel and toppling of the right wing government.”
The statement came a day after Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, asked the Shin Bet security agency to investigate “serious suspicions” of improper influence through funding from foreign entities. Sohlberg said he could not attest to the substance of the suspicions and directed agencies to verify the claims. Qatar, accused of trying to mobilize Arab voters, has denied interfering in the elections, calling the allegations “ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure.”
Opposition leaders also called for a full investigation while warning against using the allegations to cast doubt on or otherwise influence the election results.
Although the vote count is complete, the results remain subject to possible “minor corrections” before they are certified and submitted to President Isaac Herzog next Wednesday, according to the Central Elections Committee. The new Knesset is due to be sworn in Nov. 10, while parties have until Nov. 18 to challenge the results.
A prolonged political stalemate could leave Netanyahu in office as caretaker prime minister through another round of coalition negotiations or potentially another election. A return to war with Iran also remains a key risk.
Israeli assets have come under pressure this week, with the shekel sustaining the worst intraday decline since 2023 on Wednesday before regaining ground. Tel Aviv’s key benchmark stock index dropped 4.1% for the week as of Friday morning, according to LSEG data.
President Herzog will begin consulting with the competing parties next week and name the leader he believes has the best chance of forming a majority government. Netanyahu may get the first call to kick off the 28-day process to build a coalition, which can be extended by up to 14 days.
If those efforts fail, new elections will be called, with Netanyahu remaining in office in the interim. Previous government-formation efforts have taken between 20 and 100 days, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.
Netanyahu could also push for a national unity government, arguing that the country should come together as it faces conflict on several fronts, though many of his opponents have ruled out such an arrangement.
