Elections In Israel: Netanyahu Falls Short Of The Necessary Votes

28.10.2026, 17:52
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Arab forces are achieving record results.

Vote counting in Israel's Knesset elections is nearing completion. According to preliminary results, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling right-wing bloc does not have enough seats to form a government, while Arab parties may achieve their best result ever, reports Times of Israel.

As of 5:00 p.m. Minsk time, with 85% of the ballots counted, the ruling conservative Likud party and its allies are in the lead. However, the right-wing coalition has secured only 53 of the 120 seats in the unicameral parliament, which is not enough to form a government without an alliance with other parties. The left-wing opposition, consolidated around the new “Yashar” party led by General Gadi Eizenkot, is not far behind: it has 48 seats.

The pro-Arab RAAM and “Joint List” have achieved a historic result: together, they have won 19 seats. For the first time, two Arab parties could play a decisive role in forming the Israeli government. Middle Eastern media are already calling the election results “a remarkable and historic increase in Palestinian representation in Israel” and “a verdict on the Netanyahu era,” notes The Times of Israel.

RAAM had previously been part of the “right-left” alliance that won the 2021 election. However, in the government formed by Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, the Arab party did not receive any ministerial posts, and the coalition itself proved short-lived due to internal conflicts. Its term ended in December 2022 with early elections, which were won by a bloc of Netanyahu supporters.

Following the recent vote, it remains unclear who will form the new government and under what conditions. “Ulpan.Politika” notes that the left-wing opposition and the Arab parties are far from united. Before the election, Eisenkot ruled out an alliance with parties that do not explicitly recognize Israel as a Jewish state or Hamas as a terrorist organization, whereas Ra’am and the “Joint List” do not meet these requirements. At the same time, the Arab parties tentatively indicated they would support a right-wing government provided Netanyahu did not personally participate in it.

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