Israel’s final results leave Netanyahu’s bloc at 53 seats, short of a majority
With all votes counted, Israel’s Central Elections Committee published final results early Friday giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc 48 and the Arab-led parties a record 19, The Times of Israel reported. No bloc reaches the 61 seats needed to govern, setting up hard coalition talks. The results go to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday after any final checks.
The seat count: Likud won 27 seats, Yashar 21, B’Yachad 12, the Joint List 11, The Democrats 8, Ra’am 8, Yisrael Beytenu 7, United Torah Judaism 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, Shas 6 and Religious Zionism 6, The Times of Israel reported. Turnout was 77.9%, with 5,716,665 votes cast.
What changed: The parties in Netanyahu’s bloc held 68 seats in the outgoing Knesset, The Times of Israel reported. The Joint List and Ra’am, with 19 seats combined, nearly doubled their current 10, and RTÉ reported they are now seen as potential kingmakers.
The fraud claims: Likud has amplified allegations that Arab parties received foreign funding to influence the vote, which both Arab lists and Qatar rejected, RTÉ reported. Government officials have provided no evidence, it reported. The election committee said its investigation will not affect the final results, and the Shin Bet said its probe was not meant to blame an entire sector of voters.
How it works next: Herzog will meet each party leader to hear who they recommend to form a government, The Times of Israel reported. The Knesset is set to be sworn in on November 10. If talks fail, Israel could face another election, RTÉ reported.