Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago3 min read
Netanyahu Bloc Wins 53 Seats, Opposition 48, No Majority in Israel’s 120-Member Knesset
“The two Arab party lists - The Joint List and the Ra'am - defied expectations to win a record 19 seats”
“Netanyahu’s Likud party has continued to amplify unsubstantiated allegations that Arab-led parties had ‘stolen’ the election”
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Netanyahu bloc wins 53 seats, opposition 48, no parliamentary majority. Final tally shows no majority, prompting coalition negotiations and potential new vote.
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No majority, coalition talks
Israel’s Central Election Committee published final results giving Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats and the opposition bloc 48, leaving neither side with the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority in the 120-member Knesset. The Central Election Committee said 5,716,665 votes were counted, with 5,690,778 considered valid, and it noted that eleven parties surpassed the 3.25% electoral threshold to win seats, which required 184,947 votes. The final tally showed Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc included United Torah Judaism with seven seats and Shas with six, while The Jewish Power of Itamar Ben Gvir won seven and Religious Zionism of Bezalel Smotrich won six.
The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot included Yesh Atid with 21 seats, and it also included Together, the alliance of former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, plus The Democrats led by Yair Golan and Israel Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman. The results left Netanyahu needing eight more seats for an absolute majority and Eisenkot’s bloc needing thirteen, so both would require support from the Arab parties or deputies from the opposite bloc.
Delegitimisation dispute escalates
Netanyahu’s Likud amplified allegations that Arab-led parties had “stolen” the election, and the head of the Central Elections Committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, said “serious suspicions” of foreign interference were brought to him in a letter to the Shin Bet security agency. Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of trying to delegitimise the election results, and Eisenkot said in a video message, “The days of Netanyahu using state institutions against Israeli interests for his personal needs are over.” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari rejected the allegations, saying, “We categorically deny allegations that Qatar has interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome,” on X.
The row also drew denials and rebuttals inside Israel, with the Shin Bet later saying the investigation was “focused and scoped,” and did not cast doubt on the integrity of the entire democratic and legal voting sector. Eisenkot’s bloc faced a practical constraint in the formation process, because Al Jazeera reported that the Eisenkot-led opposition bloc could not form a governing coalition without the support of Arab-led parties.
Arab seats shape next steps
With both blocs short of 61 seats, the election results thrust Palestinian citizens of Israel into the government-formation battle, because the Arab parties held 19 seats while Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 and Eisenkot’s bloc held 48.
“‘Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. Sixty-five is more than 55. That’s how Israeli democracy works. Period,’ Golan wrote on X.”
Yair Golan urged the opposition “change bloc” to ally with the Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am to oust Netanyahu, writing on X, “Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. Sixty-five is more than 55. That’s how Israeli democracy works. Period,”.
Yousef Jabareen said the Joint List was ready to “pave the way for the Netanyahu government’s removal,” and he framed the alternative as “Jewish-Arab partnership — real, equal partnership. Not less than that, and not more than that,”.
The Central Elections Committee said the remaining 7% of ordinary ballots would require additional oversight, while some 600,000 so-called double envelope votes cast by soldiers, diplomats, prisoners and others who could not vote near their homes had yet to be counted.
President Isaac Herzog expressed hope that political forces could avoid new parliamentary elections amid the stalemate, urging parties to do everything possible to avoid another electoral round and to be flexible and open to available options.