Israel’s final election count left both Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition short of a majority, keeping Netanyahu in office as caretaker prime minister while Arab-led parties held seats that could help decide who forms a government.
The official results released Thursday, October 29, gave the Likud-led bloc 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 48 seats for the opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot. A government needs support from at least 61 lawmakers. The two Arab-led groupings won 19 seats combined, giving Eisenkot’s camp a possible path to a majority if they cooperate.
That partnership would be politically difficult. Opposition leaders have resisted relying on Arab parties. Netanyahu has rejected a government that depends on them.
Netanyahu remains caretaker as President Isaac Herzog consults party representatives and considers who has the best chance of forming a government. Coalition negotiations could take weeks. If no candidate succeeds within the time allowed, Israel may have to hold another election.
The vote was the first since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and leaves the country’s leadership uncertain as it continues to deal with the effects of the conflicts that followed.