Netanyahu, Eisenkot deadlocked as Israeli election counts near 90pc

With nearly 90 percent of votes counted in Israel's parliamentary election, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc nor the opposition coalition led by Gadi Eisenkot has secured the 61-seat majority required to form a government, plunging the nation into political deadlock.

Partial figures released by Israel's Central Elections Committee showed that more than five million votes had been processed, projecting 53 seats for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition in the 120-member Knesset and 48 seats for former military chief Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc, while Arab-led parties are projected to win a record 19 seats.

Final official results are expected, though over 500,000 double-envelope ballots—including votes from soldiers, diplomats, and voters outside their registered stations—remain to be counted and could shift the final tally.

The vote marks Israel's first general election since the October 7, 2023 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, functioning largely as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership, though the 77-year-old leader remains in position as caretaker prime minister until a new government takes shape.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to initiate consultations with political leaders next week to avert administrative paralysis, urging all factions to reach consensus, though no single political party in Israel's history has ever won an outright majority without forming a coalition.

In the wake of the preliminary results, Netanyahu’s Likud party accused Arab political parties of orchestrating widespread voter fraud and election theft, alleging bribery, voter intimidation, and illegal software use, claims that Likud stated were submitted to police, the Shin Bet security agency, and election authorities.

Rejecting the allegations, the Joint List, representing Arab citizens of Israel, asserted that record Arab voter turnout played a decisive role in denying Netanyahu a parliamentary majority, adding that their voters rejected state provocation, home demolitions, and war policies.

Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen indicated that the Arab alliance would consider supporting an anti-Netanyahu government from the outside without officially joining the cabinet, while opposition leader Eisenkot stated that the electorate delivered a clear vote of no-confidence against Netanyahu's administration.

-EM