Netanyahu bloc leads early Israeli vote count, Arab parties hold balance

ISRAEL — Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc led partial results from Tuesday's parliamentary election but fell short of a majority on Wednesday, according to Israeli media. Arab parties were projected to hold the balance in the 120-seat Knesset.

Anadolu Agency, citing the Times of Israel and the Central Elections Committee, reported that 72.4 percent of votes had been counted. At that point Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 54 seats, seven short of the 61 needed to govern. The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot was projected to win 48 seats. The predominantly Arab parties were projected to take 18.

The figures differ slightly between outlets and between stages of the count. The New Arab reported that, with more than 60 percent counted, the Netanyahu-led bloc held 56 seats, about five short of a majority. In a post on Telegram, Al Jazeera Arabic said Israel's Channel 12 had 66 percent of votes counted, with Netanyahu's camp on 54 seats, Eisenkot's on 48 and the Arab parties on 18. In another Telegram post, the Palestine Chronicle gave provisional figures of 55 seats for Netanyahu's camp and 49 for the opposition. The posts could not be independently verified. All the figures are provisional.

Party projections

According to the Anadolu report, Netanyahu's Likud was projected to lead with 27 seats. Eisenkot's Yashar party was projected to win 21. The Democrats and Yisrael Beiteinu were each projected to win eight seats. Shas, United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit were each expected to take seven.

Among the Arab parties, the Joint List was projected to win 12 seats and the United Arab List, also known as Ra'am, six. Anadolu said the results could change as counting continues.

BBC Bangla reported that, after more than 70 percent of the vote was counted, neither Netanyahu's bloc nor Eisenkot's looked likely to reach the 61-seat threshold.

Arab parties

The New Arab reported that exit polls from the main Israeli television channels showed the two Arab lists winning around 20 seats between them. It said that was up from 10 in the 2022 election. The outlet said Arab voters turned out in high numbers. It said Arab citizens make up 20 percent of Israel's population.

The Joint List held a gathering at its headquarters in Nasserah after the polls closed on 27 October, according to a photo caption published by the New Arab.

Statements from leaders

Netanyahu spoke early on Wednesday. "We must establish a strong, right-wing, nationalist government," he said, according to the New Arab. He added: "We must not endanger Israel and establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties." The New Arab said he dismissed a partnership with Arab parties as treasonous.

BBC Bangla reported that Netanyahu told supporters overnight that the right-wing bloc had the backing of Zionist and Jewish voters. It said he called for a nationalist, right-wing government.

Eisenkot also addressed supporters of his Yashar party overnight, according to BBC Bangla. The broadcaster said that most exit polls had initially pointed towards an opposition lead. It reported that Eisenkot said voters had chosen change and had voted against Netanyahu remaining prime minister. It said he pledged to work towards a stable government that would serve all Israeli citizens.

Yair Golan, who leads the Democrats, called on opposition allies on Wednesday to work with Arab parties to remove Netanyahu, according to the New Arab. "We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes," he said in a post on X. He added: "We have a responsibility. And we have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with Israel's Arab citizens."

What remains unconfirmed

The final balance of seats is not settled. In a Telegram post, the Palestine Chronicle said about 650,000 ballots cast by Israeli service members had not yet been counted. The post said debate was turning to possible defections, coalition realignments or another election. It also said Netanyahu would stay on as caretaker prime minister until a government is formed. Those points come from a social media post, and the outlets cited above did not report them.

TRT World said in a Telegram post that neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the anti-Netanyahu coalitions had secured a majority. That matches the partial figures from the other outlets.

Background

No party has ever won an outright majority in the Knesset, according to BBC Bangla. Israel has therefore always been governed by coalitions.

After the count ends, the president consults party leaders. The president then invites the candidate judged most likely to form a government, BBC Bangla reported. That candidate has 28 days to build a coalition and can ask for a 14-day extension.

If talks fail, the president can give another candidate the chance. If that also fails, Knesset members can ask the president to approach a third leader. If no government emerges, new elections are called.

Israel held five separate elections between 2019 and 2022 after parties repeatedly failed to cooperate, BBC Bangla said. In the 2022 election, Netanyahu's Likud won 32 of 120 seats and became the largest party. He then formed a coalition with several hard-right parties, giving him and his allies a 64-seat majority, the broadcaster reported.