Netanyahu, Eisenkot deadlocked in Israeli election as both lack seats to form government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political bloc remained ahead as election counting continued early Thursday, but neither his allies nor the opposition led by former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot had secured enough seats for a governing majority.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, Israel’s parliament, compared with 48 for Eisenkot’s camp. Arab-led parties were projected to take the remaining 19 seats, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The figures represent groups of separate political parties. Likud’s position as the largest individual party does not automatically give Netanyahu a governing majority. Parties must negotiate support for a government to form a coalition, and opposition to Netanyahu alone does not mean those factions have agreed to govern together.

Netanyahu’s bloc remained eight seats short of the 61 needed for a majority, while Eisenkot’s camp was 13 short.

Likud was projected to remain the largest party with 26 seats. Netanyahu’s partners Shas, United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit were each expected to win seven seats, while Religious Zionism was projected to receive six.

Eisenkot’s Yashar was on track for 21 seats, followed by Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad with 12, the Democrats with eight and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu with seven. The Joint List was projected to receive 12 seats and Ra’am seven.

The Arab parties’ combined total exceeds their previous record of 15 seats and nearly double their current representation of 10. Adding their projected seats to Eisenkot’s bloc would produce 67 seats, but the factions have not reached a governing agreement and may not.

Democrats leader Yair Golan urged opposition parties to form a government with the Arab factions. Other opposition leaders have rejected including them, and Liberman has opposed a minority government dependent on their support. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen indicated willingness to help remove Netanyahu.

A unity agreement between Netanyahu and Eisenkot has appeared unlikely, and faces another obstacle: Eisenkot has rejected serving under Netanyahu, including through a rotation arrangement. President Isaac Herzog urged political leaders to approach negotiations with open minds to avoid another election.

Likud also demanded an investigation into alleged fraud, bribery, intimidation and ballot manipulation involving Arab parties.

Israel held five national elections between April 2019 and November 2022, when Netanyahu assembled a 64-seat coalition. Failure to reach a governing agreement could again send voters to the polls.

Meanwhile, the Central Elections Commission announced that counting had begun on “double envelope” ballots, cast largely by IDF soldiers, along with prisoners, medical personnel, voters with medical conditions and Israeli representatives abroad.

Separately processed ballots require checks to ensure voters have not also voted elsewhere. The seat projections remain provisional, with official results expected November 4.