Israel's election is over, but the wrangling to form a new government is just beginning. Final tallies show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc taking 53 of 120 Knesset seats, while Gadi Eisenkot's camp captured 48—leaving both short of the 61 needed to govern. Netanyahu's bloc had a majority of 68 seats in the previous Knesset. The results must still be certified and handed to President Isaac Herzog next week, after which he'll tap the politician he thinks is likeliest to assemble a coalition, NBC News reports.
- Netanyahu's Likud party will remain the largest in the Knesset with 27 seats, down from 32. Eisenkot's centrist Yashar party, founded last year, will be the second-largest, with 21.
The real shake-up: parties representing Israel's Arab minority won 19 seats amid record turnout from Palestinian citizens of Israel, positioning them as potential kingmakers. Yet both main blocs have said they won't partner with the two largest Arab factions, Ra'am and the Joint List. Yair Golan, leader of the small, left-wing Democrats party, is openly urging a coalition that includes them. Protesters gathered outside Eisenkot's home on Thursday, calling for him to partner with Israeli Arab parties to prevent Netanyahu from serving another term, France24 reports.
After Herzog chooses a candidate, they will have 28 days to try to assemble a majority, plus a possible 14-day extension, the New York Times reports. If the weeks of negotiations ahead fail to produce a government, Israel will face another election early next year, a scenario that Herzog says he will do everything in his power to avoid, the AP reports. Likud has alleged, without evidence, that the election was "stolen" by the Arab parties, reports Politico. In a post on X Friday, Netanyahu said it is "forbidden" to form a coalition with Arab parties.
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