Netanyahu Bloc Edges Ahead as Israel Faces Coalition Crunch
With 70% of votes counted, neither Jewish bloc has reached the 61 seats required to govern, forcing a decision on whether to partner with Arab parties or risk a unity government.
By Javier Sanders ·
Israeli politics entered a state of flux on Wednesday as early counts showed Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp pulling ahead of the opposition, leaving both sides short of the 61 Knesset seats needed to form a majority government.
The 77-year-old prime minister lost his clear governing majority, a shift that now hinges on whether Jewish opposition leaders will ally with Palestinian parties that saw a surge in support during Tuesday’s election.
Gadi Eisenkot, the retired general leading the opposition bloc, declared victory for a “Zionist majority” overnight, effectively ruling out a broad coalition with Arab groups. His position appeared to lose ground as the count progressed and Netanyahu’s numbers rose.
With 70% of the vote tallied, both Jewish blocs appeared destined to miss the threshold. Eisenkot now faces a binary choice: strike a deal with the Joint List and Ra’am, which are on track for a record 16 to 19 seats, or offer Netanyahu a lifeline through new elections or a unity pact.
President Isaac Herzog will have the final say once counting concludes, likely in a few more days as absentee ballots from deployed soldiers are processed. The army vote traditionally leans right, but the presence of older, moderate reservists on active duty may complicate that trend.
Herzog is required to give a party leader six weeks to form a government. If the first attempt fails, the task passes to the rival. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot are expected to target defectors during this period of political wrangling.
Yair Golan, leader of the centre-left Democrats within Eisenkot’s bloc, urged a partnership with the two Palestinian parties. “We have no future here if we don’t stop being afraid. And if we don’t put an end to racism,” Golan wrote on X, criticizing the distinction drawn between Jewish and Arab votes.
Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List, stated his party “can’t be ignored under any political scenario” given its strong performance. He said the coalition would be ready to “pave the way to oust the government of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich,” while another official framed the choice as “supremacy or building democracy.”
