Netanyahu's Bloc Short of Majority as Israel Weighs Arab-Led Parties

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office, but his bloc holds 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset after Tuesday's vote, short of the 61 needed to govern. The main opposition won 48 seats. Arab-led lists captured the remaining 19, a first for the country. Coalition talks now begin among groups that range from ultra-Orthodox parties to secular leaders and Arab representatives.

Results released early Friday confirmed the seat counts. They must still be certified and delivered to President Isaac Herzog next Wednesday. Herzog will then ask someone to try to form a government. The task can go to the party leader with the most votes, which would be Netanyahu, or to a figure the party leaders agree on. If no government comes together after several attempts, Israel votes again early next year. Herzog said this week he will do what he can to prevent that.

Centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X that the difficult part is just starting. "If you want to know if something is happening behind the silence you are hearing now, the answer is yes," he wrote. Hundreds of Israelis have already gathered to ask opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot and others to partner with Arab-led lists. Such a partnership has happened only once before, briefly, in 2021. Danny Elgarat, brother of deceased hostage Itzik Elgarat, spoke at a protest outside Eisenkot's house. "Today we are here to ask for a change, an Arab-Jewish partnership," he said. "The Arabs of the land of Israel are not dangerous to security. They contribute to society."

Netanyahu and his Likud party amplified claims in the hours before final results that Arab-led parties had "stolen" the election, possibly with foreign help. No evidence was presented. Noam Sohlberg, who heads Israel's election commission and sits on the Supreme Court, said in a letter to the Shin Bet security agency that he received "serious suspicions" of foreign interference but could not verify the claims. He asked the agency to look into them. Dean Livne, the commission's interim director general, said reports about the probe were "totally unfounded" and that the final results presented to the president are unaffected. The commission said any investigation rests on classified intelligence. Israeli press reports named Qatar as the target of accusations from Netanyahu's party. Qatar denied involvement and called the charges "ridiculous and dangerous." The Shin Bet said its inquiry does not cast suspicion on any population that "exercised their right to vote democratically and legally." The commission wants the Shin Bet's findings within a week.

The election panel also warned in a letter to a lawmaker that "claims of systematic violations of electoral integrity are unfounded." Netanyahu posted on X that forming a coalition with Arab-led parties is forbidden. He has called it a betrayal if Eisenkot or others join them. Arab citizens make up 20% of Israel's population and voted at record levels, angered by Netanyahu's right-wing allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir's party lost seats.

New Knesset members are set to take their seats Nov. 10. Once assembled, Eisenkot's bloc could join with Arab-led parties to elect the speaker of the chamber. That would give the bloc control of the parliamentary agenda and the ability to pass legislation before a new government is formed. Hundreds of Israelis have mobilized to ask opposition leaders to work with Arab-led parties. If Netanyahu leaves office, he would face long-standing corruption charges, and an inquiry into security failures before the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack would almost certainly open.