Israel election: Netanyahu bloc loses mandate as Palestinian parties win record 19 seats
With neither bloc reaching the 61 Knesset seats needed for a majority, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot must decide whether to govern with Palestinian Israeli parties.
At a glance
- Final results give Netanyahu's bloc 53 Knesset seats, the Eisenkot-led opposition 48 and Palestinian Israeli parties a record 19.
- Neither side reaches the 61 seats needed for a majority, so President Isaac Herzog must decide who tries to form a government.
- Netanyahu claims Palestinian-led parties stole the election; Israeli authorities say there is no evidence of fraud.
Israel's election has left neither major bloc with a majority in the Knesset, after final results released early on Friday local time gave Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition 53 seats, the opposition bloc led by retired general Gadi Eisenkot 48, and Palestinian Israeli parties a record 19.
No party has ever won the 61 seats needed for a majority, so Israel has always been governed by coalitions. With neither side reaching that threshold, President Isaac Herzog is expected to invite the party best placed to form a government to begin negotiations, having already urged politicians to approach the talks with an "open mind". Weeks of rancour and uncertainty are possible.
Yair Golan, leader of the centre-left Democrats, a junior partner in the opposition bloc, said on Thursday he was meeting Eisenkot and others for initial talks. If the opposition cannot agree a coalition, or secure Palestinian backing for a minority government, Netanyahu may keep his position: he is already pushing for a right-wing coalition and would probably welcome new elections or a lengthy deadlock that leaves him as caretaker prime minister.
Fraud claims without evidence
Netanyahu has gone further since Tuesday's vote, claiming that Palestinian-led parties "stolen the election" — a claim Israeli police and the central elections committee have said is unsupported, insisting there is no evidence of election fraud. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the arrest of Arab Israeli leaders.
Eisenkot warned that Likud and Netanyahu had embarked on a coordinated, organised campaign to delegitimise the election result, and Herzog rebuked the prime minister, saying an entire community must not be tarnished. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson rejected accusations of interference in the vote as "ridiculous and dangerous".
Who the Palestinian parties are
Turnout among Palestinian citizens, who make up about 20% of the population, reached historic levels, after many had boycotted previous elections. The Joint List, which groups several mainly leftist Arab-led parties, is led by Yousef Jabareen. He has said it could not join an Eisenkot-led government because of its support for Israel's military operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon, but has left open the possibility of backing a minority government through confidence votes.
The other main Palestinian party, Ra'am, is led by Mansour Abbas and includes a Jewish former chief of police as its number two. It joined Naftali Bennett's coalition in 2021, the first time a Palestinian party entered an Israeli government, but the pact collapsed after 18 months, partly over disagreements about the occupied West Bank.
A survey taken as polls closed showed a clear majority of opposition voters supported forming a government with Ra'am in order to unseat Netanyahu. Eisenkot has not ruled out cooperating with Palestinians because of their race, but has set conditions for partners that the parties cannot politically accept, in effect barring them from a coalition.
The Guardian's chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, pointed to a precedent from three decades ago, when Yitzhak Rabin relied on Palestinian support for a minority government as he sought a negotiated end to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Source: The Guardian.
Questions and answers
- What was the result of Israel's election?
- Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 Knesset seats, the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48, and Palestinian Israeli parties won a record 19. No bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority.
- Could the opposition govern with Palestinian Israeli parties?
- It could, if Gadi Eisenkot agrees a governing pact with them. A survey taken as polls closed showed most opposition voters backed a government with Ra'am to unseat Netanyahu, but Eisenkot has set conditions the Palestinian parties cannot accept.
- Did Netanyahu claim election fraud?
- Yes. He said Palestinian-led parties had "stolen the election" and called for the central elections committee and Shin Bet to investigate foreign interference. Israeli police and the elections committee say there is no evidence of fraud.
