Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago3 min read
Photo · 26 October 2026Israel Election Ends Without Majority as Likud Bloc Wins 53 and Opposition Wins 48
3 Other3 West Asian2 Western Mainstream1 Latin AmericanPhoto: Nizzan Cohen, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Likud bloc won 53 seats, short of 61 needed for majority. Neither bloc reached 61 seats, triggering coalition negotiations or new elections.
Save coverage image
9 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Netanyahu’s Bloc Leads Israel Election With 53 Seats as Eizenkot Warns Against Iran Moves →
www.jpost › Israel News was read line by line by the Watchdog: 7.3. See the score →
Election deadlock and seats
Israel’s Central Elections Committee left the winner of the Israeli election undecided after all votes were counted, with neither of the two main political blocs reaching the 61 seats needed to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset. The Likud party, led by Prime Minister بنيامين نتنياهو, and its right-wing and ultra-Orthodox allies won 53 seats, while the Yesh atid party, led by the main opposition candidate غادي آيزنكوت, and three other Jewish opposition parties in his bloc won 48 seats. The Arab parties, comprising the Joint List and the United Arab List (Ra’am), won 19 seats, an unprecedented figure, and the BBC said President Isaac Herzog would consult with party chairs and choose a candidate to form a government after results are certified.
The BBC also said the count is complete but results still need certification and submission to President Isaac Herzog next Wednesday, while the CNN Arabic account said the impasse could mean weeks of coalition negotiations or the possibility of new elections. The CNN Arabic analysis framed the result as a puzzle for Netanyahu, saying, "He did not win, but he did not lose either, at least not yet," as coalition talks begin.
Arab parties and investigations
The Likud issued a statement calling on the Shin Bet (General Security Service) and the police to investigate what it described as foreign elements meddling and swaying voters in favor of Arab parties, and the CNN Arabic account said the statement followed a letter from Noam Solberg to Shin Bet director David Zini. Din Levy rejected broad fraud claims as baseless, saying in a letter that "there is no basis for claims of systemic violations of election integrity," while the BBC said Dean Livne wrote that there was "no basis for allegations of systematic violations of electoral integrity." Mansour Abbas, the head of Ra’am, urged a full investigation and said his party had "no connection" to such conduct, and the BBC said both leading blocs ruled out forming a government with Ra’am and the Joint List.
Yair Golan, the head of the smaller left-wing Democrats party, called for a government formed "in partnership" with Arab parties, and the CNN Arabic account said he urged his partners to include Arab parties in the bloc while rejecting Netanyahu’s "racist division" between Jewish and Arab votes. The CNN Arabic account also said a source close to Netanyahu described his main goal after the elections as to delegitimize Jewish-Arab political cooperation, which could topple him from power.
Herzog’s role and next steps
President Isaac Herzog became the central figure as the process moved from counting to coalition-building, and the BBC said Herzog will then consult with party chairs and choose a candidate he thinks has the best chance to form a government. The BBC also said Herzog praised the 77.7% turnout in the previous day’s election as "a badge of honour for Israeli society," while the CNN Arabic account said the result could keep Netanyahu’s remaining in power in doubt. The CNN Arabic account said Netanyahu planned to pressure opposition MPs individually not to cooperate with Arab parties, and it described Likud’s campaign accusing Arab parties of stealing the elections through bribery, threats, violence, and fraud.
The BBC described how Herzog’s consultations could take weeks and said that if parties fail to form a government, there would have to be another election, while the Folha de S.Paulo account said negotiations could last for months and even lead to new elections. The Folha de S.Paulo account also said Herzog would have seven days to consult the parties and appoint a member of parliament to form a government, and it added that if the impasse persists, new elections would be held within 90 days.