Final tallies from Israel's general election, released early on Friday, indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp has finished ahead of the opposition but failed to secure a parliamentary majority. According to the Central Elections Committee, the coalition of right-wing and far-right parties led by Netanyahu won 53 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. His Likud party remains the largest single faction in the legislature, holding 27 seats.
The opposition bloc, headed by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, secured 48 seats. A significant development in the final results is the breakthrough achieved by the Arab groupings Raam and the United Arab List. Together, these parties captured 19 seats, placing them in a potential kingmaker position during future coalition negotiations.
The election period saw tensions rise following unproven allegations of fraud directed at the Arab parties by Netanyahu's camp. These claims, which circulated on Thursday, suggested the parties were involved in receiving funds from Qatar to finance vote-buying. Both the Arab parties and the government of Qatar have denied these accusations. Gadi Eisenkot publicly accused the Prime Minister of attempting to delegitimise the election results.
In response to the controversy, Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, stated it was investigating suspected irregularities. However, the agency clarified that its actions were not intended to cast aspersions or blame on the entire sector that participated in the vote. The electoral commission also noted that some information circulating on Thursday was entirely unfounded, though it did not directly name the allegations against the Arab parties. The commission emphasized that the ongoing investigation will not impact the final results.
The official results are set to be presented to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday. Following the presentation, the President will initiate consultations with various party leaders before tasking one of them with the responsibility of forming a government. The lack of a clear majority suggests that coalition negotiations could extend for several weeks. Should these efforts fail to produce a government, Israel could face the prospect of another election.
