Israel faces coalition deadlock after inconclusive vote

JERUSALEM

As part of his election campaign, Yashar Party leader and former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot holds a rally in Tel Aviv, Oct. 27.

Israel faced difficult coalition talks on Oct. 30 after the completed election count left both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition short of a parliamentary majority.

The Central Elections Committee’s count gave Netanyahu’s allies 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, against 48 for the bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.

Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats, leaving neither main bloc with the 61 needed for a majority.

Likud remained the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21. The Joint List won 11 and Ra’am eight.

Arab-party backing could give Eisenkot’s bloc a majority, but most of its leaders oppose such cooperation.

Eisenkot has also repeatedly ruled out a unity government with Netanyahu.

Channel 12 reported that Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman had largely cut contact with his opposition partners and preferred Eisenkot to reach a unity deal with Netanyahu.

Liberman himself continued to reject joining a Netanyahu-led government or one reliant on Arab parties.

Meanwhile, Likud alleged that Türkiye and Qatar had funded organizations working to increase Arab voter turnout and claimed the election had been “stolen.”

Police said there was no investigative or intelligence evidence supporting the broader claim that the election had been stolen.

Election officials also rejected allegations of systematic voting irregularities.

Shin Bet said its separate investigation into suspected foreign interference was limited in scope and did not implicate Arab voters as a whole.

Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg had instructed the agency to establish whether the suspicions could be substantiated.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Arab party leaders to be arrested. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas rejected the allegations.

Qatar denied interfering in the election or financing activities intended to influence its outcome.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari accused Israeli politicians and media figures of trying to draw Doha into domestic political disputes.

Türkiye’s Communications Directorate also rejected the allegations, calling them “entirely baseless” and part of a deliberate disinformation campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion.

The results are due to be formally presented to President Isaac Herzog on Nov. 4.

If efforts to form a government fail, Israel could face another election. Netanyahu remains in office in the meantime.