Netanyahu And Eisenkot Fail To Secure Majority As Arab Parties Win 17 Seats

Fire Exit Politics

Israel’s election outcome left Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot without a parliamentary majority, with ABC describing exit polls after polls closed Tuesday and saying “Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot have secured a majority to form a government.” Netanyahu told supporters, “We must form a strong right-wing government,” opposing any “government that relies on the support of Israeli Arabs,” as ABC also said the election was dominated by foreign policy and security issues.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, “Our course will not change,” whether a coalition led by Netanyahu wins or an opposition bloc led by Eisenkot triumphs, as ABC framed the vote as a contest over who can form a government. Arab-led parties were on track to win 17 seats, with more than 84 percent of votes counted on Wednesday, and Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said, “With the numbers we have now, there is no government.”

Reporting for this sectionABCAl Jazeera

Arab Parties, Coalition Math

The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot’s Yashar party trailed Netanyahu’s Likud party, while Palestinian citizens of Israel voted at a turnout of about 80 percent, described as historic.

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, told Al Jazeera, “There’s a price to pay,” because the “Arabs can’t be kept outside and only being considered and co-opted when you need their votes.”

ABC reported that with 72% of the ballots counted, the Central Electoral Committee assigned 54 seats to the bloc in favor of Netanyahu and 47 to the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot, while the Arab parties reached 19 seats.

Yair Golan urged a coalition with Arab parties to unseat Netanyahu, and ABC quoted him saying, “Netanyahu has lost. I can count to 120. 65 is more than 55.”

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraABC

Herzog’s Next Step

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s role after general elections involved appointing the next prime minister to attempt forming a government by listening to party leaders’ recommendations and naming the person he commissions. Herzog may choose a different leader than the one who won the most votes if he believes it improves the chance of gathering parliamentary support needed to win a confidence vote in the Knesset.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that under Israel’s Basic Law, forming a government requires the confidence of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset members, and it said final election results were slated to be announced on November 4. Yair Golan told supporters in a post on X that “We have a majority, we have a responsibility, and we have an opportunity to form a change government in partnership with Arab citizens in Israel,” as Anadolu Ajansı also said Gadi Eisenkot wanted to form a stable Zionist government.

Reporting for this sectionAl-HadathAnadolu Ajansı