Jerusalem, Oct 28: Israel’s election count put Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc ahead with 57 seats, but the partial results left it short of the 61 required for a Knesset majority, keeping the question of government formation unresolved.
The Central Elections Committee’s figures, released on Wednesday morning after 41.9 per cent of ballot boxes had been counted, gave the anti-Netanyahu camp 47 seats. The predominantly Arab Joint List and Ra’am factions together accounted for the remaining 16 seats, according to The Times of Israel.
Exit polls released by Israeli broadcasters Channels 11, 12 and 13 on Tuesday night had indicated that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition seeking to replace him would secure a parliamentary majority. Updated projections released overnight subsequently showed the prime minister’s bloc drawing level with or gaining an edge over the opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces.
Responding to the projections, Netanyahu called for a “strong right-wing government”, arguing that right-wing forces commanded a “great majority” among what he described as Israel’s Zionist public.
Speaking to supporters at Likud’s election headquarters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu accused media outlets of attempting to discourage voters by projecting that his party would win only 18 or 19 seats. He said the emerging figures established that Likud was Israel’s largest party and claimed that earlier forecasts had been intended to undermine turnout.
Netanyahu also opposed any government arrangement that depended on Arab parties. He criticised parties prepared to cooperate with them, calling such an arrangement a “shame”, and questioned how political groups could discuss commitments to those serving in the military while working with parties he accused of attacking Israel Defence Forces soldiers.
He described the Arab parties as anti-Zionist and alleged that they opposed Israel’s existence, viewed Hamas as a charitable organisation and called Israeli soldiers war criminals. These remarks reflected Netanyahu’s stated position on potential coalition partners as negotiations over the next government loom.
The prime minister also pointed to Israel’s conduct in conflicts following the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, claiming that Iran had been significantly weakened and that Israel had emerged stronger.
The election is the first since the October 7 attack and comes amid changes in Israel’s political landscape and voter priorities since the 2022 polls. While the partial count placed Likud’s bloc ahead, the seat distribution left the composition of the next government uncertain
