Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc maintained its lead over the opposition in Israel’s election, securing 53 seats in the next Knesset, according to the final vote count released by the Central Elections Committee on Thursday.
The opposition bloc won 48 seats, leaving both sides short of the 61 needed for a parliamentary majority. Arab parties secured a record 19 seats.
The results leave Israel facing difficult coalition negotiations, with neither bloc holding a majority and the possibility of another election if the parties fail to reach an agreement.
Claiming that the opposition had won “on points”, outgoing opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Friday that efforts were under way to form a government, urging the public to be patient as negotiations continued behind closed doors.
“If you want to know whether anything is happening behind the silence you’re currently hearing, the answer is yes,” Lapid wrote on X, acknowledging that forming a government would be difficult and success was not guaranteed.
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition’s largest party, Yashar, met former prime minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday. The two said they had discussed forming a new government as quickly as possible.
Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats, also held talks with Eisenkot and Lapid, as well as meeting Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas. Golan has called for the opposition to form a government with the Arab parties.
However, other opposition leaders have ruled out including Arab parties in a coalition following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre.
Avigdor Liberman reiterated on Thursday that he would neither serve under Netanyahu nor join a government with Arab parties, amid reports that he had been ignoring calls from fellow opposition leaders.
“The only coalition we would consider is one made up exclusively of Zionist parties, including Likud without Bibi [Netanyahu],” he said.
One possibility is a minority government that could win a Knesset confidence vote without holding an absolute majority of 61 seats, potentially relying on support from Arab parties.
Representatives of the Arab parties have indicated they are willing to support efforts to prevent Netanyahu from remaining in office, but such an arrangement would also face opposition from Liberman and others.
Another option remains a unity government involving, although Eisenkot has previously ruled out serving under Netanyahu, including in a rotation government. Other opposition leaders have also rejected joining a Netanyahu-led coalition.
Netanyahu’s Likud remained the largest party with 27 seats, followed by United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit with seven each, and Shas and Religious Zionism with six each.
Eisenkot’s Yashar won 21 seats, making it the second-largest party in the Knesset, followed by B’Yachad, jointly led by Bennett and Lapid, with 12. Golan’s The Democrats secured eight seats and Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu seven.
President Isaac Herzog, who must consult parliamentary factions before deciding whom to task with forming a government, urged political leaders on Wednesday to approach coalition negotiations with open minds and avoid another election.
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