Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 26 April 2023Isaac Herzog Urges Parties To Avoid Another Israel Election After Netanyahu, Eisenkot Deadlock
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President Herzog urged parties to avoid another election after the vote produced no majority. Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot blocs won a majority, signaling weeks of coalition negotiations.
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Deadlock After Vote Count
Israel’s election deadlock left neither Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc able to clear the 61-seat majority in the Knesset, with 85 percent of the vote counted and Netanyahu’s coalition on pace for 53 seats while Eisenkot’s bloc held 48 seats. President Isaac Herzog said, "We must do everything possible, especially after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," as he prepared to begin consulting next week with different parties before issuing a mandate to form a government. The vote count still left 500,000 votes to be counted from soldiers, diplomats, prisoners and others who voted outside their designated area, and those votes could slightly shift blocs’ seat totals or the allotment of seats within each bloc.
The political wrangling was framed as weeks of negotiations over Israel’s next government, with a new round of elections scheduled as early as April if neither side could assemble a majority. The sources also described a potential role for Arab parties as kingmakers, with the expectation that Arab parties were on track to secure a record-breaking 19 seats, even as such a scenario was described as highly unlikely.
Competing Claims and Quotes
Netanyahu’s camp responded to the election arithmetic and Arab parties’ gains by accusing them of stealing the vote, with Likud alleging "The elections in the State of Israel were stolen at the hands of Arab parties". Gadi Eisenkot’s camp and allies pushed for a different path, and Yair Golan urged the opposition bloc to form a partnership with Arab parties, saying, "We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes." The BBC described President Isaac Herzog calling the election a "badge of honour" for Israeli society, while the BBC also said the result left Israel without a clear path to a new government.
The Guardian reported that Netanyahu claimed Arab parties had "stolen the election" and said his Likud party sent "hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence" to the central elections committee and the Shin Bet. The BBC also pointed to divisions over judicial reforms and over how to respond to the deadly 7 October 2023 attacks, as it framed the deadlock as a sign of deep divisions within Israeli society.
What Happens Next
The formal process placed President Isaac Herzog at the center of the next steps, with the sources describing that he would consult with party leaders and then invite the candidate he believed had the best chance of forming a government. The timeline described in one account set the first mandate at 28 days, with a possibility of a 14-day extension, and it said the president would begin consultations after next Wednesday when Justice Sohlberg presented the official results. The Guardian described the stakes as coalition talks looming after Netanyahu lost his governing majority, with the sources saying both Jewish blocs were set to fall short of the 61 Knesset seats needed for a majority government.
The Haaretz podcast discussion said the election’s lesson was that "the October 7 war did not change Israeli society," and it argued that coalition wrangling would determine who steers Israel into the future. The sources also tied the consequences to governance choices, with the BBC asking whether Netanyahu would abandon religious allies and form a coalition with right-wingers from the opposition bloc, and with the BBC noting that the opposition bloc would face questions about co-operating with Arab parties to force Netanyahu out of office.