The final bloc breakdown therefore stands at 53 seats for Netanyahu’s current coalition, 48 for the opposing bloc and 19 for the Arab parties.
By United with Israel Staff
Israel’s election count is complete, leaving neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposing bloc with the 61 seats required to form a majority government.
With 100% of the votes counted, Netanyahu’s current right-wing and religious coalition finished with 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while the bloc of parties seeking to replace him finished with 48.
The remaining 19 seats went to the two Arab parties, with the Joint List winning 11 and Ra’am eight.
Likud emerged as the largest individual party with 27 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21 and Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad with 12.
The Joint List finished with 11 seats, while the Democrats and Ra’am each won eight.
Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each won seven seats. Shas and the Religious Zionism-Zehut alliance each finished with six.
The final bloc breakdown therefore stands at 53 seats for Netanyahu’s current coalition, 48 for the opposing bloc and 19 for the Arab parties.
The results mark a significant increase in the parliamentary strength of the Arab parties. The Joint List and Ra’am will hold a combined 19 seats, compared with 10 held by Arab parties in the outgoing Knesset.
The increase came amid exceptionally high voter participation in Arab communities, with Arab turnout reportedly reaching approximately 80%.
Overall turnout reached 77.7%, the highest in an Israeli election since 1999 and 7.1 percentage points higher than in 2022.
The final results also differ substantially from the exit polls released when voting ended Tuesday night. One exit poll initially projected Netanyahu’s bloc winning as many as 62 seats and an outright majority, while the other major polls showed the two main blocs much closer. The final count ultimately left Netanyahu’s bloc at 53.
Attention will now turn to the process of forming Israel’s next government.
President Isaac Herzog will consult with representatives of all the factions elected to the Knesset, with each party informing the president which lawmaker it recommends to form a government.
Herzog is not required to select the leader of the largest party or the largest bloc. He will assign the mandate to the Knesset member he determines has the best chance of forming a government.
The candidate who receives the mandate initially has 28 days to form a government, with the possibility of an extension of up to 14 additional days. If that effort fails, another candidate may be given an opportunity.
With neither bloc holding 61 seats, several paths remain open.
Parties currently on opposite sides of the political divide could negotiate a broader unity government. Alternatively, a minority government could seek support from parties that remain outside the formal coalition. Those parties could provide the parliamentary backing necessary to establish and sustain a government without formally joining it or receiving ministerial positions.
The negotiations could also lead individual parties to reconsider their current political alignments as the rival camps attempt to construct a viable majority.
If the political system ultimately exhausts the process without any candidate succeeding in forming a government, the Knesset could be dissolved and Israel could head to another election.
For now, the final 53-48-19 breakdown leaves the composition of Israel’s next government unresolved, with the focus shifting from the ballot box to presidential consultations and coalition negotiations.
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