Israel, the elections are over: Netanyahu block 53 seats, Eisenkot 48, the Arab parties 19

Israeli election officials completed the final count of ballots on Thursday, confirming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc holds 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats, while the two Arab-led parties won a combined 19 seats. Neither side achieved the 61 seats necessary for a parliamentary majority. The Central Elections Committee stated that official results will be certified and announced on Wednesday, November 4. Until that date, the committee will conduct further checks on the integrity of the voting process. The final tally revealed specific seat distributions within each camp. In Netanyahu’s bloc, the Likud party gained one seat to reach a total of 27. Other members include United Torah Judaism with seven seats, Otzma Yehudit with seven, Shas with six, and Religious Zionist Party with six. Eisenkot’s bloc consisted of his Yashar party with 21 seats, the B’Yachad alliance led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid with 12, the Democrats with eight, and Yisrael Beytenu with seven. The Arab bloc comprised the Joint List with 11 seats and Ra’am with eight. Official turnout stood at 77.9 percent, with 5,716,665 total votes cast. These elections marked the first national vote since the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza. Many observers viewed the contest as a direct referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership. Prior to the vote, two distinct coalitions had emerged. One centered on Netanyahu, uniting right-wing, far-right, and religious parties. The other united right-wing, centrist, and liberal parties under the shared goal of removing Netanyahu from power. However, the fragmentation of the results means that a straightforward path to government formation is unavailable. Political maneuvering began immediately as provisional results emerged. Eisenkot met with Bennett to discuss forming a new government as quickly as possible. He also engaged with Yair Golan, chairman of the left-liberal Democrats. Golan became the sole member of the opposition alliance to advocate for coalition talks involving parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel. All other groups in the opposition bloc rejected such unions. Golan met separately with Mansour Abbas, the leader of Ra’am. After the meeting, Golan posted on social media that the rescue of Israel was at stake and urged action to seize the opportunity for change. Despite these efforts, Eisenkot faces significant hurdles. A former military leader turned politician, Eisenkot has pledged not to ally with or enter partnerships with Palestinian Israeli parties. Yet, without the support of the Arab-led lists, his bloc cannot mathematically form a governing coalition. Another option discussed is a unity government including both Netanyahu and Eisenkot, though this scenario may be unpopular among moderate voters. The question of whether the right-wing factions within Eisenkot’s camp will accept cooperation with Arab parties remains unresolved. Tensions rose during the final days of the campaign over allegations of voter fraud. Netanyahu’s Likud party amplified claims that Arab-Israeli groups received foreign funding to influence the vote. Specifically, the party alleged that Ra’am received money from Qatar to finance vote-buying operations. Likud described this as a political earthquake and claimed the elections had been stolen. Government officials have provided no evidence to support these assertions. Mansour Abbas denied any wrongdoing and welcomed investigations into the matter. The Joint List accused Netanyahu and his allies of launching a campaign of incitement driven by fear of the growing political influence of Arab voters. Qatar also rejected the accusations. Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service confirmed it was investigating suspected irregularities. The agency stressed that the probe was not intended to cast aspersions on an entire sector that voted in a democratic and lawful manner. High-ranking officials from the Central Election Committee dismissed the fraud allegations. Acting Director General Dean Livne stated that suggestions of widespread issues were entirely groundless. The committee reiterated that the ongoing investigation would not affect the final results. A senior official from the committee also denied the claims of large-scale foreign interference. The fragmented outcome sets the stage for difficult negotiations that could last weeks. If talks fail, the prospect of another election remains. Protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on October 28, sitting on roads to demand that Arab parties be included in the formation of the next government coalition. The political landscape is now defined by the need to bridge deep ideological divides to achieve a workable majority. Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh, reporting from the occupied West Bank because her network is banned from Israel, noted that Eisenkot has an uphill battle ahead. She highlighted the contradiction between his pledge against partnering with Palestinian Israeli parties and the mathematical necessity of doing so. The coming days will determine whether the opposition can forge a fragile alliance or if the country returns to the polls. The certification of results on November 4 will mark the formal end of the current electoral cycle and the definitive start of the coalition-building phase.