Neither camp reached the 61-seat majority in Israel’s October 28 election. Likud is claiming Arab-led parties ‘stole’ the vote while the election committee says there is no basis for the claim. Coalition talks are expected to take weeks, and a repeat election is being discussed.
According to the Associated Press, Israel voted on October 28 with turnout of about 78 percent, the highest since 1999. In the final count reported by Euronews and Al Jazeera, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 of 120 seats and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48, leaving both short of a majority. Arab-led parties won 19 seats combined, reportedly a record.
광고 문의 · 300×250Euronews reported that Likud, with 27 seats, is the largest single party. Seat details differ slightly between outlets, so this article uses only the bloc figures that several outlets share. The internal split of the Arab parties’ 19 seats is reported inconsistently, with some reports giving the Joint List 12 and the United Arab List (Ra’am) 7 and others giving Ra’am 8, so the exact numbers have not been confirmed.
It was the first Israeli general election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the Gaza war, and was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu. Supporters say he protects Israel’s security and Jewish identity; critics accuse him of prolonging the war for political reasons, weakening the judiciary and letting ultra-Orthodox men avoid military service. He is also on trial in a corruption case.
The Arab Parties and the ‘Stolen Election’ Dispute
Euronews reported that Likud accused the Arab-led parties of ‘stealing’ the election and called allegations of Qatari money reaching Ra’am ‘Ra’am-gate’, an ‘earthquake’. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas denied wrongdoing and said he would welcome an investigation. Al Jazeera reported that Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg said he had received ‘serious suspicions’ of foreign interference that he could not verify, and asked the Shin Bet to investigate.
By contrast, acting committee director general Dean Livne said there was ‘no basis for allegations of election theft’, and opposition leaders said the vote was free and fair. Eisenkot said foreign interference, if true, would be ‘unacceptable and extremely serious’, while criticising Netanyahu for trying to undermine the legitimacy of the result. No independent evidence of fraud or foreign funding has been reported, and none has been confirmed.
The Coalition Arithmetic
President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders and then choose who is asked to form a government; he need not pick the leader of the largest party. The nominee has 28 days, extendable by up to 14, to assemble a majority; if that fails, a second candidate and then a third nominated by the Knesset get their turn, and if all fail a new election is called. Herzog was quoted by the AP as saying everything must be done to avoid another round of elections.
Netanyahu has ruled out working with the Arab parties and warned such a government would endanger Israel, and the Arab parties say they will not partner with him. Eisenkot has left the door open if they recognise Israel as a Jewish state and Hamas as extremist, but the AP said some parties that could join his coalition reject that condition. With no clear path to a majority for either side, there are fears of a repeat of the deadlock behind the five elections held between 2019 and 2022.
