Israel Election Deadlock: Netanyahu 53, Eisenkot 48 as Arab Parties Hold the Balance

Israel Election Deadlock: Netanyahu 53, Eisenkot 48 as Arab Parties Hold the Balance

Israel's election has ended in a deadlock, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger Gadi Eisenkot reaching the 61 seats needed to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset. With about 85 percent of votes counted on Wednesday, Netanyahu's right-wing bloc stood at around 53 to 54 seats, Eisenkot's bloc at 48 to 49, and Arab-led parties at 17 to 19 seats, making them potential kingmakers. The count is not yet final, because double-envelope ballots from soldiers, diplomats and hospital patients are still to be tallied, and final results are expected on Thursday or Friday.

Both men staked claims overnight. Netanyahu, addressing supporters after 3 a.m. at Likud headquarters in Jerusalem, called for a right-wing national government and pointed to Israel's military successes. Eisenkot, a former military chief who leads the Yashar party, said voters had rejected Netanyahu and called on him to retire from politics, describing him as a caretaker prime minister without a mandate. Neither man claimed victory, and the deadlock could keep Netanyahu in office as caretaker while coalition talks drag on, or even force another election.

The result is a setback for Netanyahu's coalition, which at its height held 68 seats, but it also leaves Eisenkot without a path to power, since he has all but ruled out governing with Arab parties, just as Netanyahu's bloc has. Turnout was 77.7 percent, the highest in more than two decades, in the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack and the wars that followed.

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