Netanyahu’s Likud finished first in Israel’s election, but with nearly 90% of votes counted, neither bloc has 61 seats as Arab parties win a record 19.
By EEW Magazine Online News Editors
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party finished first in Tuesday’s national election. With most ballots counted Wednesday, however, neither his right-wing bloc nor the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot had a clear path to the 61 seats needed to govern.
Arab-led parties were projected to win a record 19 seats, making them potential kingmakers in a parliament where most Jewish opposition parties have refused to rely on them, and raising the prospect of prolonged coalition talks or another election.
With nearly 90% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee, down from 68 in the outgoing parliament. Likud led all parties with 26 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21. Eisenkot’s four-party bloc, which includes former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s joint list, B’Yachad, totaled 48 seats. The Joint List and Ra’am, the two Arab-led parties, held 12 and seven seats, nearly double their combined strength in the outgoing Knesset.
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot waves an Israeli flag as he arrives at his election-night rally in Tel Aviv early Oct. 28, 2026, after the first exit polls were released. (Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
Election-night exit polls had shown Eisenkot’s bloc narrowly ahead, but the count reversed that picture overnight. Between 430,000 and 480,000 absentee ballots, cast mostly by soldiers, prisoners and diplomats, remain to be tallied. Analysts expect them to shift individual seats without changing the balance of power. A full count is expected Thursday, with official results due Nov. 4.
Netanyahu, 77, told supporters in Jerusalem that Likud remains Israel’s largest party and argued that his bloc holds a decisive majority among Jewish and Zionist voters. “We must establish a strong, right-wing, national government,” he said, warning against any coalition that depends on Arab parties, which he accused of opposing Israel’s existence. He also pointed to his government’s military record against Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, cast their ballots in Likud’s party primary in Jerusalem on Aug. 17, 2026, ahead of the Oct. 27 general election. (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Likud alleged in a statement that the election had been “stolen” by Arab parties through bribery, threats and forgery, and demanded investigations by police and the Shin Bet security service. None of the claims has been independently verified. Eisenkot’s Yashar party accused Netanyahu of laying the groundwork to challenge the results with baseless fraud allegations. The election committee, which rejected several claims of foul play on Election Day, said it would review every complaint.
Eisenkot has vowed to form what he calls a Zionist government with national service for all and has refused to serve under Netanyahu, including in a rotation arrangement. Yair Golan, who leads the left-wing Democrats, broke with most of his allies and urged the opposition to count the Arab parties as partners. “Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120,” Golan wrote. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said his party was ready to help oust Netanyahu’s government. Whether the Arab parties would formally join a coalition or back one from outside remains an open question.
President Isaac Herzog, who will consult party leaders before choosing who gets the first chance to form a coalition, urged them to keep an open mind and avoid sending Israelis back to the polls. In Washington, President Donald Trump, who endorsed Netanyahu before the vote, claimed credit for Likud’s late surge and said he would consider pushing for a unity government.
Until a new government is sworn in, Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister. The role limits some of his powers, though he retains authority to direct the military. Israel’s longest-serving leader, he is also on trial on corruption charges, which he denies. Tuesday’s vote was the first national election since the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that followed.