Israel’s election leaves no majority, keeping the nation trapped in political limbo
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After the latest election, Israel still has no governing coalition, and the country now faces several difficult options, including an opposition government, a unity deal, defections, or another costly vote.
Israel’s 120-seat Knesset did not produce a decisive winner in the recent election, leaving the country without a governing coalition and likely extending a period of political uncertainty for weeks or months. Neither the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party nor the centrist Yashar bloc headed by rival Gadi Eisenkot secured the 61 seats required to form a government.
Analysts outline four scenarios that could end the stalemate. The first imagines an opposition-led government that would depend on cooperation with Arab parties, a prospect firmly rejected by right-wing leaders Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman, who have sharpened their stance since the October 7 attack. The second proposes a national unity cabinet that would include Likud and at least one opposition party, though Eisenkot has already ruled out joining a government with Netanyahu.
A third option involves Netanyahu seeking defections from opposition lawmakers, but all opposition bloc leaders have publicly refused to sit with him, and his bloc is still eight seats short of a majority. The fourth scenario is a new election, which would follow a series of presidential consultations. President Isaac Herzog is expected to interview party leaders and assign one of them the task of forming a coalition, with a 28-day deadline that can be extended by 14 days. If the first appointee fails, a second and possibly a third candidate would receive similar timeframes before a fresh election is called.
Should the process stall, Netanyahu, who remains caretaker prime minister, could keep the post while another election is organized, potentially as early as next spring. This would be the seventh general election in eight years, underscoring how deeply entrenched Israel’s current political impasse has become.