Vote counting in Israel’s parliamentary elections is continuing, with preliminary results indicating that the country could once again end up in political deadlock.
The results so far give Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc a narrow lead over the opposing bloc, led by Gandhi Eisenkot. However, neither side has secured a parliamentary majority.
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According to partial results from the Central Elections Committee, published at 7:58 a.m., 57.3% of polling stations had been counted. The bloc supporting Netanyahu held 55 seats, while the parties opposing him had 49.
Arab parties have secured 16 seats and could prove decisive in post-election negotiations. A government formed without other partners requires 61 seats, a threshold neither of the two blocs has reached.
Reservists, with 2.6%, the People of Israel, with 1.7%, and the United Ultra-Orthodox Party, with 0.2%, are currently below the 3.25% electoral threshold.
The figures are not final and may change as counting continues. Double-envelope ballots, including those cast by soldiers, will be counted at a later stage.
Although there is still no clear winner, Netanyahu and Eisenkot have expressed their intention to form the next government. Attention has now turned to negotiations, which are expected to be difficult.
Netanyahu called for the formation of a “strong right-wing government” and urged the “Jewish and Zionist majority to unite” to begin a new chapter.
He did not speak for several hours after polling stations closed at 10:00 p.m. At around 3:00 a.m., he appeared before supporters, smiling and confident, to deliver a short speech.
As counting continues, it remains unclear who will be Israel’s next prime minister.
The first exit polls put the opposition alliance led by centrist Gandhi Eisenkot slightly ahead. Later estimates showed the two blocs tied, with 51 seats each in the Knesset.
This would leave both sides short of the required majority: 61 of the 120 seats in Israel’s national assembly.
Eisenkot described the initial estimates as a sign of Netanyahu’s “complete disapproval.” “The people have chosen change,” he told supporters, promising that he “will do everything to form a government” and ruling out the possibility of another election.
The 77-year-old prime minister did not mention his rival in his speech and did not declare victory. He emphasized that Likud remains the largest party in parliament, with 27 seats projected, compared with the 32 it held in the outgoing parliament, ahead of Eisenkot’s Yasser.
Voter turnout was 77.7%, the highest level since 1999. These are the first elections held since the October 7, 2023 attack.
Another notable development was the rise of two Arab parties. Ra’am, made up of moderate Islamists, and the United Arab List, of the radical left, could win 18 to 19 seats in the Knesset, compared with 10 in the outgoing parliament.
Mansour Abbas, head of the Ra’am Party, described the results for Netanyahu’s bloc as a “major defeat” and said he was willing to work with Gandhi Eisenkot. The latter, however, has repeatedly said he is not considering such an option.
Netanyahu said that “forming a government supported by Arab parties is out of the question.” During the campaign, he frequently attacked these parties, including with the slogan “either the right or Palestine.”
Ilana Speitzman, a political expert and conference organizer at Bar-Ilan University, said developments were pointing, at least for now, toward deadlock.
“Netanyahu has no way to form a government, while Mr. Eisenkot’s coalition would have to either form a government with the Arab parties or form a minority government, two options the opposition has rejected so far,” she said.
Over the coming weeks, the parties will hold negotiations to find a formula that would make it possible to form a new government.
If the talks fail, as has often happened in Israel’s recent history, another runoff election may be needed. Eisenkot opposes this possibility.
“To form a government, it will be necessary to break the rules and what was considered settled, and form unprecedented alliances,” said Yaeli Lifsitz, a student who attended celebrations for Gandhi Eisenkot’s success at his party headquarters in Tel Aviv. The initial estimates there were greeted with cheers and chants of “Bibi, go home!”
