In brief
The 2026 Israeli election seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership ended without any single party securing the 61 seats needed for a majority. Netanyahu’s right‑wing bloc is projected to win 53 seats, while the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot is expected to secure 48. Arab parties – the Joint List and Ra’am – are set for a record 19 seats, a rise from 15 in 2020. With 77.7% voter turnout, the final tally will be completed after all double‑envelope ballots are counted, potentially shifting the balance of power and prompting months of coalition negotiations.
In a dramatic political event that was broadcast from Tel Aviv to the world, Israel’s 2026 parliamentary election has produced a result in which no single party or bloc holds a clear majority in the 120‑seat Knesset. The preliminary count shows Netanyahu’s right‑wing coalition, led by the Likud party, ahead with 53 seats, whereas the opposition coalition headed by former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot is projected to win 48 seats. The Arab‑dominated Joint List and Ra’am together are set to secure a record 19 seats, up from 15 in 2020.
Voter turnout reached an unprecedented 77.7 percent, the highest since the 1999 elections, as more than 5.7 million of the 7.3 million eligible voters went to the polls on Tuesday. Elections officials from Israel’s Central Elections Committee reported that the count had surpassed 5.7 million votes by Wednesday evening, and the final tally is expected on Thursday once all double‑envelope ballots – which include votes from soldiers, diplomats and others voting abroad – are counted.
In the aftermath, investors and market watchers commented on the political uncertainty. Tel Aviv stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as the partial results showed Netanyahu’s bloc leading but still short of a majority. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA‑35 index closed down 1.81 percent, while the broader TA‑125 fell 2.46 percent. Analyst Gad Lior of Yedioth Ahronoth said the sell‑off was driven by worries that another Netanyahu‑led government might again struggle to tackle economic challenges and that a renewed conflict with Iran could worsen investor sentiment. Meanwhile, the Israeli shekel weakened against major currencies, losing 1.62 percent to the U.S. dollar and trading at 3.128 shekels per dollar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose current coalition is the most far‑right in Israel’s history, remained in office as caretaker while a new government is formed. President Isaac Herzog will begin consulting party leaders next week, according to Israeli officials, and the candidate who can secure a coalition within 28 days – with a possible 14‑day extension – will be tasked with forming the next cabinet.
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot ran the connection between his coalition’s campaign and voting day. Eisenkot posted “The preliminary poll results point to complete distrust in Netanyahu and the government of Oct. 7 of the Zionist majority and the majority of Israeli citizens. If these are the final results, this is a victory for the statist‑Zionist majority in Israel.” He accompanied the post with a photo of itself amid winning seats. Netanyahu, meanwhile, told supporters that his bloc “holds a decisive majority among the Jewish and Zionist public” and that Likud is “the largest party in Israel.”
“If these are the final results, this is a victory for the statist‑Zionist majority in Israel.”
The Arab parties have expressed optimism about their chance to influence governance. Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, said he hopes the final results will allow the anti‑Netanyahu bloc to win the 61 seats required to form a government and that “with the numbers we have now, there is no government.” Abbas noted that his party previously held five seats and had joined the coalition that governed from 2021 to 2022.
Experts suggest that the absence of a clear majority will force both major blocs to consider alliances with Arab parties or each other to reach 61 seats. Former Israeli ambassador Alon Pinkas warned that the “Arabs can’t be kept outside” a coalition and that parties that pledged not to cooperate with Arab parties “will be forced to accept them if they need their votes.” He added that Arab‑led lists would push for demands that a Jewish‑led coalition may not support.
With the final count expected later in the week and the possibility of up to 500,000 special ballots still uncounted, the political scene remains highly fluid. The outcome could either keep Netanyahu in a caretaker role until a successor is chosen, or lead to a broader coalition that includes the Arab parties, potentially reshaping Israel’s policy directions in both domestic and regional arenas.
