Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, in the country’s general election but remains short of the majority needed to form a government, with 85 per cent of ballots counted.
Netanyahu’s Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies are projected to win 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while Eisenkot’s Yashar party and three other Jewish opposition parties in his bloc are on course to secure 48 seats.
Both leaders have said they intend to form a governing coalition, raising the prospect of prolonged negotiations as neither bloc has secured the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.
Arab-led parties, which are projected to win a combined 19 seats, could emerge as kingmakers. However, most Jewish parties have ruled out working with them, complicating efforts to assemble a coalition.
Between 430,000 and 480,000 absentee ballots, including votes from soldiers, diplomats and hospital patients, are yet to be counted. The final results could take another day or two to emerge.
Once the results are confirmed, President Isaac Herzog will consult political factions before inviting the leader he believes has the best chance of forming a government. The process could take weeks, and failure to reach an agreement could eventually lead to another election.
Herzog praised the 77.7 per cent voter turnout recorded on Tuesday, describing it as the highest in more than two decades.
“It is a badge of honour for Israeli society, and it was remarkable to see how deep the desire for democracy is in Israel,” he said.
He added that he expected to receive the official results next week before beginning consultations with the political factions.
“We must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections. So, I expect everyone who comes here to come with an open mind,” Herzog said.
Eisenkot said the election results showed that Israelis wanted a change in leadership, following initial exit polls that had projected a stronger performance for his opposition bloc.
“The coalition of failure has lost the people’s trust,” he told supporters at Yashar’s election headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“I will work with my partners to ensure that the people’s decision is translated into a Zionist government,” he added.
Netanyahu, however, declared that his right-wing bloc had secured a “great majority” and called for a government aligned with its political and security positions.
“We must put in place a strong right-wing national government,” he said.
“It is forbidden, simply forbidden, to endanger Israel by forming a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties,” Netanyahu added.
The election results showed Netanyahu’s bloc performing better than initially projected by exit polls, although its expected 53 seats remain 15 fewer than the number it previously controlled in the Knesset.
Tuesday’s election was the first since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. The attacks were followed by wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
The vote was widely regarded as consequential for Israel’s political direction, with voters weighing issues including accountability for the security failures preceding the October 7 attacks, the conduct of regional wars, military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, judicial reforms and the country’s international standing.
Some voters expressed disappointment with the results, saying they wanted new leadership and greater accountability for the October 7 attacks.
Avigail Levine, who voted for former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad party, said she believed those in power at the time of the attacks should no longer govern the country.
“I was hoping for new leadership. I feel we need it as a nation,” she said.
“The people in power on 7 October should not be in power now,” she added.
Another voter, Gal, from Ramat Gan, said he supported Netanyahu because of continuing security concerns and opposition to Arab political parties gaining influence.
Likud also alleged that Arab-led parties had engaged in bribery, threats, violence, fraud and the use of prohibited software to influence voters, without providing evidence. Israel’s Central Elections Committee said it would examine the claims as part of a post-election review.
The United Arab List and the Joint List are projected to nearly double their representation in parliament following increased turnout among Arab Israelis, who account for about a fifth of Israel’s population.
Mahdi Kabaha, who campaigned to encourage Arab voter participation, described the result as historic.
“Arab citizens came out and said clearly: we want a real say in this country,” he said.
Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said some Arab voters were motivated by the prospect of removing far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from office. Ben-Gvir has advocated the annexation of the occupied West Bank, Jewish settlement in Gaza and the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians.
United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas, who participated in a governing coalition formed after the 2021 election, said he hoped the numbers would allow his party to work with Eisenkot’s bloc to secure a majority.
“I hope the numbers will work out and we, the Change Bloc and the UAL, can ensure that there are 61 Knesset seats,” Abbas said.
Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party, also urged opposition partners to consider working with Arab parties to replace Netanyahu’s coalition.
“We have no future here if we don’t stop being afraid. And if we don’t put an end to racism,” he wrote on X.
However, Eisenkot has previously raised objections to such an alliance or attached conditions, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and of Hamas as a terrorist organisation that must be destroyed. Right-wing parties within his opposition bloc have also rejected the arrangement.
Jabareen said opposition parties would need to negotiate with Arab representatives if they genuinely wanted to form an alternative government.
“The opposition parties cannot dictate any conditions,” he said.
“If the opposition in Israel are willing to afford real and substantive change, and an alternative for the dangerous, extreme-right-wing government… they will have to negotiate with us,” he added.
Boluwatife Enome
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