Israel election: neither bloc reaches 61 seats as Arab parties surge

Israelis voted Tuesday and by Wednesday night no bloc had reached the 61 seats needed to govern the 120-seat Knesset. With 51.8% of ballots counted, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc held 55 seats, Eisenkot's opposition bloc 49, and Arab parties 16. Other tallies with more votes counted put Netanyahu's bloc around 53, the opposition around 48, and Palestinian parties around 19. With some 85.6% of votes tallied, Netanyahu's bloc was projected at roughly 43.7% of seats, Eisenkot's at 37.7%, and unaligned parties at 17.7%.

Exit polls had shown the two main blocs neck-and-neck at roughly 51 seats each — well short of a majority either way. The strongest gains came from Arab Israeli parties, whose voters turned out in soaring numbers against Netanyahu.

Netanyahu claimed victory and said official results would show Likud as the largest party, despite exit polls suggesting otherwise. Both he and Eisenkot vowed to form a government. Netanyahu ruled out partnering with Arab parties, calling such a government "dangerous" and dismissing the idea as treasonous. The Arab-led parties have also ruled out any partnership with him.

The remainder of votes to be counted are absentee ballots, expected to be counted Wednesday night with final results by Thursday. Netanyahu remains interim caretaker head of government while weeks of coalition wrangling lie ahead.

With neither bloc at 61, the path to a majority may run through Arab-led parties that made a historic showing — a coalition question that touches the sensitive issues around Palestinians and their descendants in Israel. It is not clear whether Netanyahu's other opponents would form a coalition with them.

Eylon Levy said the political elite face three options: a unity government, a minority government, or fresh elections, all requiring someone to surrender serious coalition promises. The outcome will shape Israeli government formation and regional stability.