77% turnout in Israel as 61-seat majority slips away from Netanyahu bloc
Final Knesset results are expected by Friday, leaving the country facing weeks of difficult coalition talks or a potential return to the polls.
By Matthew Qureshi ·
The final tally for Israel’s general election will be known by Friday at the latest.
Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp nor the opposition currently commands the 61 seats required to form a government in the 120-member Knesset. Voter participation reached 77%, marking the highest level since 1999. While Netanyahu’s Likud party secured the most individual votes, it lost ground compared to the 2022 election. Support for the far-right allies who hold the balance of power in his bloc also declined, placing the coalition below the threshold for a majority according to partial data.
The path forward requires extensive negotiation. Former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot leads the opposition party Yashar, which also lacks a standalone majority. One potential path involves Jewish and Arab-led parties uniting against Netanyahu. Another sees parties that campaigned to oust the prime minister joining forces with him instead. These scenarios have triggered intense debate in a country already fractured by recent wars and domestic policy disputes.
Arab-led parties gained the most ground in Tuesday’s vote. Eisenkot has signaled openness to a partnership with them, provided they recognize Hamas as an extremist group. Some of his other likely coalition partners have rejected that condition. Netanyahu has refused to build a government relying on Arab support. His team has asked the elections committee to investigate claims of a stolen vote, though Likud has not yet presented evidence for those allegations.
The elections committee has also requested the Shin Bet intelligence service to probe reports of foreign interference. The request does not name specific parties, but Netanyahu used the inquiry to argue against cooperation with Arab-led groups. Qatar, which many Israelis view as a patron of Hamas, issued a sharp denial stating it did not fund activities intended to influence the outcome. The committee expects the Shin Bet’s findings within a week. Israeli law mandates that all results be certified by November 4.
The Oct. 7, 2023 attack remains the central backdrop for this campaign. That day, militants killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. Candidates focused heavily on the security failures surrounding that date rather than the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Netanyahu has rejected a formal inquiry into the events, claiming he led the country through the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. His opponents have pledged to establish a commission of inquiry if they take power.
Military service exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox population have also driven division. Nearly 1,000 soldiers and reservists have died in three years of conflict. Netanyahu’s coalition has depended on ultra-Orthodox parties to maintain these exemptions. Eisenkot, who lost his son in combat in Gaza, has vowed to end the practice. The decision to form a government now rests on whether leaders can bridge these deep ideological and demographic divides before the certification deadline.
The president will task a candidate with forming a cabinet once the final numbers are official. If multiple attempts fail, the country will return to the ballot box in early 2027.
