Benjamin Netanyahu’s political bloc has fallen short of a parliamentary majority in Israel’s election, with final results showing it secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
The main opposition bloc won 48 seats, while Arab-led parties secured the remaining 19, according to results released early Friday. The outcome leaves political parties facing difficult negotiations to assemble a coalition with at least 61 seats.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, remains in office while the process of forming a new government gets under way.
“Now comes the truly hard part,” centrist politician Yair Lapid wrote on X, urging Israelis to remain patient.
President to appoint a candidate to form government
The results must first be certified and submitted to President Isaac Herzog next Wednesday. He will then nominate a candidate to form the next government.
The nominee could be Netanyahu, whose party received the most votes, or another figure considered by the various party leaders to have the best chance of securing a coalition.
The opposition faces a difficult choice over whether to cooperate with Arab-led parties, despite the political sensitivity of such an alliance, or consider joining Netanyahu in a unity government.
If efforts to form a government fail, Israel could face another election early next year. Herzog has said he will do everything in his power to avoid that outcome.
Netanyahu’s allegations of election interference disputed
In the hours before the final results were announced, Netanyahu and his Likud party amplified allegations that Arab-led parties had stolen the election, potentially with foreign assistance.
The claims were not supported by evidence presented publicly. Israel’s election committee said allegations of systematic violations of electoral integrity were baseless and stressed that the investigation into possible foreign interference did not affect the final results or target any particular sector of the population.
The Shin Bet security agency also said its investigation was not intended to cast suspicion on the wider Arab population, which had exercised its right to vote.
Qatar, which was mentioned in allegations circulated by Israeli media, denied any involvement, describing the claims as “ridiculous and dangerous”.
Netanyahu subsequently wrote on X that forming a coalition with Arab parties was forbidden. Opposition figures accused him of seeking to undermine Arab voters and discourage cooperation between Arab and Jewish parties.
Opposition and Arab parties could influence parliament
The newly elected Knesset is expected to be sworn in on November 10.
Before a new government is formed, Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc could cooperate with Arab-led parties to elect a parliamentary speaker. Such an arrangement could give them influence over the Knesset’s agenda and allow legislation to advance.
Hundreds of Israelis have reportedly attended rallies urging Eisenkot and other opposition figures to work with Arab-led parties. A similar arrangement took place briefly in 2021, when the Ra’am party joined a governing coalition.
The negotiations will determine whether the opposition can build a working majority or whether Netanyahu could remain in power through a different coalition arrangement.
If Netanyahu leaves office, he could also face renewed scrutiny over longstanding corruption allegations and calls for an inquiry into security failures ahead of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack.
Also read: Israel elections: Four scenarios for the next 100 days
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