Netanyahu seeks wider coalition without Arab parties as Israeli opposition opens talks

Election result leaves no bloc with a majority

The 27 October election produced no majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu's coalition won 53 seats and the Jewish opposition parties led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48. The two Arab lists, Ra'am and the Joint List, took 19 seats between them, a record for the Arab parties according to in.gr reporting. Likud remained the largest single party with 27 seats, although it lost almost a sixth of its earlier Knesset seats. Reaching the 61 seats needed to govern requires either defections from the opposition or support from the Arab parties, and most opposition parties had ruled out Arab coalition partners before the vote.

Netanyahu coalition53

Jewish opposition parties48

Arab parties19

Netanyahu coalition

53 seats

Jewish opposition parties

48 seats

Arab parties

19 seats

Data from the article text

Netanyahu backs a wider government without Arab parties

On 2 November Netanyahu, the outgoing prime minister, called for a broader coalition, but without Arab parties, and insisted he should remain prime minister because Likud won the most seats. In a statement posted on Likud's official Telegram channel, he said he was open to dialogue with any party that backs him and does not support terrorism. He accused the two Arab alliances, which together hold 19 seats, of supporting terrorism and rejecting the existence of a Jewish state. Reporting on the arithmetic says Netanyahu would need at least eight opposition lawmakers, or a national unity government with Eisenkot, to reach 61 seats.

Likud's challenge to the vote count fails

On Monday, 2 November, Likud asked the Central Elections Committee to delay certifying the results until intelligence services finished a probe into alleged foreign interference. Ilan Bombach, a Likud lawyer and committee member, wrote to the committee chair, judge Noam Sohlberg, seeking an emergency session over what he described as serious suspicions. Sohlberg refused, saying the committee had no authority to withhold certification or to interfere with an ongoing investigation. The committee also said any interference, if it occurred, was not significant enough to change the outcome, and it rejected Likud's claim that the vote had been manipulated. Netanyahu's camp has continued to allege interference and fraud.

Opposition leaders meet in Herzliya

On Tuesday, 3 November, opposition leaders met in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, to coordinate their next steps. Eisenkot's Yashar party announced the meeting, which was the first gathering of the bloc since the election. Attendees included former prime ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, Democrats leader Yair Golan and Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beiteinu. Their joint statement pledged to act quickly to replace Netanyahu's government with what it calls a national emergency government, and to back Eisenkot for the first mandate from President Isaac Herzog. The statement sets out four principles: recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, commitment to the values of the Declaration of Independence, mandatory military service for all, and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation that must dismantle its military capabilities and end its rule in Gaza. Lapid described Netanyahu's campaign on arrival as a dangerous attempt to cancel the elections. Joint List leader Yousef Jabarin told AFP that the opposition must accept political reality and work with the Arab parties if it wants Netanyahu out of power.

What happens next

President Isaac Herzog starts consultations on Wednesday, 4 November, and must decide whether to give the first mandate to Netanyahu, as head of the largest party, or to Eisenkot, who could collect more recommendations from Knesset members. Daniel Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel, expects Herzog to press for a government of national unity that brings the two main blocs together. If the process drags on, new elections become likely. William Galston of the Brookings Institution notes that Netanyahu would stay on as head of a caretaker government until those elections, because the caretaker role in Israel is held by the incumbent rather than an appointee. If coalition formation fails, the Knesset would be dissolved and new elections held within 90 days.