Election stalemate in Israel: government formation not in sight

Allegations after election in Israel "Netanyahu has started a campaign" As of: October 30, 2026 • 3:28 p.m

The final result of the election in Israel does not give any party bloc a majority capable of governing. Now the Arab parties could come into play. But new allegations are coming from the Netanyahu camp. Competitor Eisenkot reacts.

When Dean Live from the responsible electoral commission announced the preliminary final result, the numbers he gave contained no surprises. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national-conservative Likud party remains the strongest force even after all votes have been counted. Together with his partners from the right-wing religious spectrum, Netanyahu only has 53 of the 120 seats in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. The current government camp does not have its own majority.

However, the opposition camp around ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot also missed this. Its bloc only has 48 seats. However, there are two electoral lists from Arab parties for a total of 19 mandates - a historically good result for the political representatives of the Arab minority population.

The Arab parties probably performed better than ever before in Israel's election. more

Netanyahu's Likud party has been questioning the legitimacy of the Arab parties' electoral success for days, calling it election fraud and a stolen election. Now there is an accusation that the Arab parties bought votes with money from abroad. Likud MP Amit Halevi said on radio station Reshet Bet: "We are against MPs in parliament whose seats were bought with bribery. By bribery from Iran, Qatar, Turkey or somewhere else. We know that there was foreign interference."

The Likud has not yet provided any evidence of such alleged bribery, but the accusation alone is causing a stir in the ongoing debates about the formation of a government. The election commission commissioned the domestic secret service to investigate. According to election commission chief Livne, this “takes place in parallel to the work of the election commission”. But they do not affect the end result.

The complete counting of the votes confirms what was already becoming apparent: forming a government is likely to be difficult. more

For the Arab parties, the accusation is part of a campaign to cast doubt on the election results. Also on the radio station Reshet Bet, Arab-Israeli politician and former MP Mohammed Barakeh emphasized: "Such statements are an attempt to undermine the election results because they are not in Netanyahu's spirit. I am also annoyed by the claim that there is a stalemate. There is no stalemate in Israel: there are 67 who are against Netanyahu and 53 who are for him."

The Arab parties want to bring about political change and could help opposition leader Eisenkot gain a majority.

Israel could be heading for new elections again after the parliamentary elections, says Middle East expert Woertz. more

Eisenkot also commented on the election fraud allegations: "It is already clear that the Likud and Netanyahu have started a campaign to question the election results. They are doing this because they lost and do not have a majority."

Eisenkot's problem: In his own camp there are reservations about working with the Arab parties - be it in a coalition or by tolerating a minority government.

The preliminary final result is now being checked. President Izchak Herzog then has to decide who he will initially commission to form the government - Eisenkot or Netanyahu.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | Counting in Israel ended - government formation not in sight | Oct 30, 2026 | 1:49 p.m