Politics
Israeli election ends undecided as both blocs fall short of the 61-seat majority
October 28, 2026 at 09:00 AM · Updated 16m ago
11 reports · 10 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 3 hours
Vote counting in Israel's Knesset election shows no bloc reaching the 61 seats needed to form a government, with results still preliminary.
- With 66.3% of votes counted, Netanyahu's bloc holds 54 seats, Eisenkot's opposition 48, and Arab parties 18.
- Official results are due November 4, with about 600,000 absentee ballots, roughly 10 percent of votes, still to be counted.
- Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas said he is ready to join an Eisenkot-led government and has received calls from both camps.
- Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot pledged to work toward forming a new government.
- Democratic Party leader Yair Golan declared Netanyahu lost the election, saying the change camp won 65 seats against 55, and urged a government with Arab citizens.
- Netanyahu declared he would form a right-wing government without Arab parties' support.
- Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said Arab parties do not meet his partnership conditions.
- A Hebrew University poll found over 61% of opposition voters favor a coalition with Ra'am.
- Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused Arab voters of election theft and pledged to build settlements in Gaza, drawing condemnation from Arab leaders.
- The Central Elections Committee expects 600,000–650,000 postal ballots, up from 463,000 in 2022, with counting to begin at midnight Wednesday.
- After the official results due November 4, President Isaac Herzog will begin consultations to pick a candidate to form the next government.
- Voter turnout in Israel's election reached its highest level since the 1988 Knesset vote, according to preliminary counting data.











