Israel election result shows no overall majority as vote count completes | Israel Elections 2026 News

Vote counting is complete for Israel’s election, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition securing a majority in parliament, Israeli media reported.

As provisional results were released Thursday, opposition politicians met to explore options for a coalition.

With more than 99 percent of the ballots cast on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats, Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported. Arab list parties held a total of 19 seats, the statement added.

Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition parties managed to obtain the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.

The final results of the Knesset elections will be certified and announced on Wednesday. Until then, results are subject to change.

Tuesday’s elections – the first since the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel and the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza – were widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s premiership.

Coalition options

On Thursday, Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party, met with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who heads the Together party, to discuss ways to form a new government “as quickly as possible,” according to a statement reported by Israeli media outlet Ynet News.

Eisenkot also met with Democratic Party Chairman Yair Golan, the only member of the opposition alliance to support forming a coalition with parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, while all other political groups have rejected such a union.

Golan met separately with Mansour Abbas, who leads the United Arabs, or Raam, list, which is expected to win seven of the Arab party’s 19 seats.

“This is the time to act. Our responsibility is not to miss the opportunity for change and the salvation of Israel,” Golan said in a message on X after his meeting with Abbas.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh noted that “Eisenkot has an uphill battle ahead of him.”

The former military leader turned politician pledged “not to ally or partner with Israeli Palestinian parties,” Odeh said, reporting from the occupied West Bank, because Al Jazeera is banned in Israel.

But since no political bloc has a majority, the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot cannot form a government coalition without the support of Arab parties, she added.

Netanyahu ‘uses state institutions for his personal needs’

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s Likud party continued to amplify unsubstantiated allegations that Arab-led parties “stole” the elections, potentially with foreign aid – claims that have been rejected.

The head of the Central Election Commission, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, said “serious suspicions” of foreign interference had been brought to his attention in a letter to the Shin Bet security agency. Sohlberg said he could not verify the claims, but given their seriousness, he asked the agency to investigate.

Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of seeking to delegitimize the election results with his allegations.

In a video posted on his

“Benjamin Netanyahu is not satisfied with the results, even though he repeatedly says he won,” political analyst Xavier Abu Eid told Al Jazeera.

He added that while it seems unlikely the opposition could gain advantage by overcoming differences with Arab-led groups, a deal could be reached to replace the current Knesset speaker, who is close to Netanyahu.

“If there is a new president in the Knesset,…Netanyahu loses an important ally,” Abu Eid said, adding that this could give the opposition an opportunity to “actually start passing legislation” against him.

Odeh said the next steps would involve negotiations between political groups after the Central Elections Commission announces and certifies the election results by Wednesday.