DST News: Israel faces the prospect of political gridlock after neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, secured enough seats to form a government in Tuesday’s election. The final results may take several days to confirm. The election marked the first time Israelis had voted since the October 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Voter turnout reached a record high.
With more than 70% of the votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party was leading with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s Yashar party with 22. According to Haaretz, a potential coalition supporting Netanyahu held 54 seats, while a bloc backing Eisenkot had 49, leaving both sides short of a parliamentary majority.
Palestinian-led parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, secured a combined 17 seats, marking their strongest showing to date. However, both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have ruled out forming a government with the Arab parties. Meanwhile, millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, were ineligible to vote in the Israeli election.
Speaking on Tuesday, Netanyahu called for a right-wing government and rejected the possibility of relying on Arab parties for parliamentary support.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (translated): “We must form a right-wing, national, strong government. That is what must be done. We must not—must not—endanger Israel and establish a government that is backed by anti-Zionist Arab parties.”
Netanyahu also described the election as a potential turning point for Israel, citing cooperation with US President Donald Trump as an opportunity to address what he called the existential threat posed by Iran.
