Israel election count complete with no bloc winning majority

Vote counting is complete in Israel after Tuesday’s Knesset elections, and neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition has won a majority, according to Israeli media reports cited by Al Jazeera. With more than 99 percent of ballots counted, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot had 48. Arab-led parties held a combined 19 seats. Both sides fell short of the 61 seats needed for a majority.

The provisional results were published on Thursday, and opposition politicians met to explore coalition options. The final results are due to be certified and announced by Wednesday and could still change. The elections were widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s premiership.

Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party, met former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the Together party, to discuss forming a new government “as quickly as possible,” according to a statement reported by Ynet. Eisenkot also met Democrats chairman Yair Golan, the only opposition alliance member open to a coalition with parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel. Other political groups have rejected such a union.

Golan met separately with Mansour Abbas, who leads the United Arab List, or Ra’am, projected to win seven of the 19 Arab party seats. “This is a time for action. Our responsibility is not to miss the opportunity for change and the salvation of Israel,” Golan said on X after the meeting.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh said Eisenkot faces an “uphill battle.” Odeh reported from the occupied West Bank because Al Jazeera is banned from Israel. She noted Eisenkot has pledged not to partner with Palestinian Israeli parties, but without their support the opposition bloc cannot form a governing coalition because no bloc has a majority.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s Likud party has continued to amplify unsubstantiated allegations that Arab-led parties “stole” the election, possibly with foreign help. The claims have been rejected. The head of the Central Elections Committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, said “serious suspicions” of foreign interference had been brought to him in a letter to the Shin Bet security agency. He said he could not verify the claims but asked the agency to investigate.

Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of trying to delegitimise the results. In a video on X, he said: “The days of Netanyahu using state institutions against Israeli interests for his personal needs are over,” adding that no “spin” can change voters rejecting his government.

Political analyst Xavier Abu Eid told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu is not satisfied with the results despite saying he won. Abu Eid said it seemed unlikely the opposition could overcome differences with Arab-led groups, but there could be an understanding to replace the Knesset speaker, a Netanyahu ally, which might open the way for legislation against him.

Odeh said the next steps will be negotiations between political groups after the Central Elections Committee certifies the results by Wednesday.

Source: Al Jazeera.