Israel faces difficult negotiations to form its next government after parliamentary election results left rival blocs short of a majority, with Arab parties potentially holding the key to breaking the deadlock.
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With 88.6% of the vote counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 48 for the opposition camp led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot. Arab parties won a combined 19 seats, leaving neither side with the 61 needed for an absolute majority.
The Central Elections Committee is expected to publish the final results on Friday, after counting between 430,000 and 480,000 double-envelope ballots cast by military personnel, diplomatic staff, prisoners and people who are ill.
Once the results are official, President Isaac Herzog will ask the candidate he considers best placed to assemble a majority to form a government. The designated candidate will initially have 28 days to build a coalition, with the option of a 14-day extension.
The negotiations could be protracted. Netanyahu took 58 days to form his current cabinet after the November 2022 election, and the latest results leave both camps facing obstacles to securing the support needed to govern.
Eisenkot has a relative advantage in seeking coalition partners, as smaller right-wing parties failed to clear the threshold required to enter parliament, limiting Netanyahu’s options for gaining additional seats.
Arab parties could prove decisive in the negotiations. Raam, led by Mansour Abbas, has signaled its willingness to open talks with Eisenkot’s bloc, while the Joint List has proposed providing a parliamentary “safety net” to any coalition that removes Netanyahu from power.
Opposition leaders have nevertheless been reluctant to enter formal agreements with Arab parties, given hostility toward such arrangements among substantial sections of the electorate. During the campaign, Netanyahu used the prospect of cooperation between his rivals and Arab parties to attack the opposition, describing it as an alliance of the “left and the Muslim Brotherhood” that would undermine state security.
Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats and the only Zionist political figure openly willing to include Arab parties in a governing arrangement, has convened talks with Eisenkot and Yair Lapid to discuss possible alliances.
Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, has taken a different approach. He opposes both a minority government dependent on Arab parties and a cabinet headed by Netanyahu, preferring instead a national unity arrangement in which Eisenkot joins the incumbent prime minister.
Eisenkot has advocated a “Zionist mobilization government” as an alternative. In a social media post following the release of the initial projections, he wrote: “There are still long days of work ahead of us, but we are focused on the important task entrusted to us: bringing change to Israel and establishing a Zionist mobilization government.”
A national unity government bringing together parties with a Zionist profile, while excluding Arab and ultra-religious parties, has been floated as another way out of the deadlock. A poll published in mid-October found that 55% of respondents preferred such an arrangement to holding another election.
The proposal faces significant political resistance. In 2020, Netanyahu and centrist Benny Gantz agreed to rotate the premiership under a power-sharing deal that collapsed after a year. Local media have reported behind-the-scenes efforts by Herzog to bring Netanyahu and Eisenkot closer, but the opposition has framed the election as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership.
If coalition talks fail, Israel could be forced to hold another election, repeating a cycle of political instability that saw four national votes between April 2019 and March 2021.
Alternative arrangements, including a minority government supported by individual lawmakers, could avert an immediate return to the polls. Until a new administration is formed, Netanyahu will remain in office in a caretaker capacity.
On Wednesday, Senior Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi confirmed that the Joint List, an alliance of Arab-led parties, is in talks with the bloc opposing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the formation of an alternative government following Tuesday’s parliamentary election.
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Tibi, chairman of the Ta’al party, said the Joint List was ready to help the so-called “change bloc” replace Netanyahu, although it was unlikely to formally join a governing coalition. The Joint List is a political alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel, comprising Ta’al, Balad, and Hadash.
“We have blocked the possibility of Netanyahu forming a government,” Tibi said, referring to the election results. “Our public wants us to go further and influence the shape of the political system after the elections.”
Tibi said the alliance was open to discussing parliamentary arrangements, including how and when its lawmakers would vote, in exchange for progress on issues affecting Israel’s Arab minority, including crime, house demolitions, infrastructure and incitement. “We will probably not be an organic part of this government,” he said, adding that other arrangements were possible.
Yair Golan, leader of the center-left Democrats party, which is part of the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot, urged his allies to abandon their refusal to cooperate with Arab parties. “We must no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes,” he said.
Israeli settlers deliberately sabotaging voting at polling stations in Palestinian towns
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) October 27, 2026
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Knesset member and Ta’al party leader Ahmad Tibi accused Israeli settlers of intentionally delaying the voting process across Palestinian towns during parliamentary elections.
In a… pic.twitter.com/3K0vWHg6yY
Yousef Jabareen, chairman of the Joint List, also expressed willingness to help Eisenkot replace Netanyahu. “Anyone who wants to offer a real alternative to Netanyahu’s bloodstained government will have to talk to us. We are ready to pave the way for Netanyahu’s removal,” he stated.
These remarks came as vote counting continued after an election that appeared to leave neither Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc nor the rival bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot with the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.
With about 77 percent of the votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 54 seats in the 120-seat parliament, compared with 49 for Eisenkot’s bloc, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee, which oversees the election. The Joint List and the Muslim Ra’am party were projected to win a combined 17 seats, with 11 going to the Joint List.
The Joint List could play a decisive role in efforts to form a government, potentially by providing parliamentary support from outside the coalition. However, both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have previously ruled out forming a government with Arab parties, complicating efforts to assemble a majority.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: Xinhua
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