Netanyahu's bloc leads but falls short of majority in Israeli election
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Israel's election results show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition winning 53 seats, eight short of the 61 needed for a governing majority, prompting coalition talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition emerged as the largest bloc in Israel's recent parliamentary election, securing 53 of the 120 Knesset seats, according to the final tally released by the Central Elections Committee on Friday. Netanyahu's Likud party remained the biggest single faction with 27 seats, while the opposition bloc led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot obtained 48 seats.
Arab party groupings Raam and the Joint List together won 19 seats, positioning them as potential kingmakers in the formation of a government. No bloc achieved the 61-seat threshold required for a majority, indicating that coalition negotiations are likely to be lengthy and complex, with the possibility of a new election if talks fail.
The election outcome was accompanied by allegations from Netanyahu's camp that Arab-Israeli parties received foreign funding to influence the vote. Both Raam and the Joint List rejected the claims, and Qatar described the accusations as unfounded. Israel's Shin Bet security service said it was investigating suspected irregularities but emphasized that the probe was not intended to cast aspersions on any voting sector. The acting director general of the electoral commission, Dean Livne, called suggestions of widespread problems "entirely groundless."
Raam leader Mansour Abbas denied any wrongdoing and welcomed an investigation, while the Joint List accused Netanyahu and his allies of conducting a campaign aimed at undermining Arab voters' influence. Opposition figures, including left-wing candidate Yair Golan, suggested that Netanyahu was attempting to challenge the election results. Eisenkot said he had been briefed by Shin Bet and the election committee but noted that it was too early to determine whether any irregularities had occurred.
Yousef Jabareen, head of the Joint List, told AFP he was willing to cooperate with the opposition to bring down Netanyahu but did not intend to join a government. Police reported the arrest of three suspects in a localized case related to the allegations, which the election commission described as isolated.