Netanyahu's Likud Falls Short of Majority in Fragmented Knesset

Israel's parliamentary election on October 27 resulted in a highly divided Knesset, with no single bloc able to form a government on its own. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-religious coalition secured 53 seats, falling eight short of the 61 needed for a majority. Likud, the largest party in the bloc, won 26 seats, a decline from the 32 it held four years earlier. The coalition's far-right partners, Otzma Yehudit led by Ithamar Ben-Gvir (7 seats) and Religious Zionism headed by Bezalel Smotrich (6 seats), together hold 13 seats, slightly fewer than in the previous election. The remaining seats in the bloc come from the religious parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, each with seven seats.

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, framed the vote as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has overseen the Gaza war, launched two attacks on Iran and pledged not to concede to Palestinian demands. With the vote count at nearly 90%, the election outcome leaves Israel facing a potential caretaker government and heightened leverage for Arab parties in coalition talks.