Israeli Election Count Leaves Netanyahu 8 Seats Short of Majority
Likud and allies projected to hold 53 Knesset seats, while opposition and Arab parties combine for 67, leaving coalition math complex.
By Wyatt Cooper ·
The Central Elections Committee reported on Wednesday evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 53 seats in the next Knesset. The opposition bloc was projected to take 48 seats. Neither side reached the 61 seats required for a majority without the support of Arab parties.
Arab parties won a record combined total of 19 seats at the time of the report. The official tally stood at 88% and excluded double-envelope ballots. Those ballots, cast by soldiers, patients, prisoners, and certain election workers, were due to be counted overnight and could alter the final results.
Likud was projected to win 26 seats, making it the largest party again. United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit were each expected to take seven seats. The Religious Zionist Party was projected to win six. Most pre-election polls had given Likud considerably fewer seats and its allies more.
In the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar was projected to win 21 seats. Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad was projected to take 12, Yair Golan’s The Democrats eight, and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu seven. Ofer Winter’s People of Israel and Yoaz Hendel’s The Reservists were both projected to miss the 3.25% threshold.
Likud accused Arab parties on Wednesday of stealing the election through fraud, bribery, intimidation, and ballot manipulation. The party demanded an immediate investigation by law enforcement. High Arab turnout fueled the accusations.
President Isaac Herzog urged political leaders to come to consultations with open minds. "We must do everything, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," he said. By law, the president must consult Knesset factions before choosing who will try to form a government.
Yair Golan said he would meet three opposition leaders on Thursday. He urged the opposition to form a government with Arab parties, arguing that Netanyahu lost with about 55 seats against the opposition’s 65. "I know how to count to 120," Golan wrote on social media. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said his party was ready to "pave the way for the ousting of the Netanyahu government."
Source: The Jerusalem Post
