Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office while Israel’s parties work to form a government, after his allies won 53 seats and no camp secured the 61 required for a Knesset majority.
The Central Elections Committee has released party-seat allocations that may still change before formal submission or certification to the president, due Nov. 4. Associated Press groups the results into 53 seats for Netanyahu’s camp, 48 for the non-Arab opposition and 19 for Arab-led parties. Those groups’ combined 67 seats do not establish that they will govern together.
Israel’s Basic Law: The Government keeps the outgoing government in place until a successor is formed. That continuity leaves Netanyahu as prime minister during the negotiations, even though his camp is eight seats short of a majority. After consulting party factions, President Isaac Herzog assigns a Knesset member to try to form a government. The selected lawmaker has 28 days for the task, and extensions can add no more than 14 days in total.
Herzog said he would receive the official results and begin consultations with party factions on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party said it would recommend Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to Herzog for the mandate. The recommendation puts Eisenkot forward for the attempt, but the non-Arab opposition’s 48 seats leave it needing at least 13 more to reach the 61-seat threshold.
Arab-led parties hold 19 seats, enough to cover that gap mathematically. AP described cooperation with them as politically contentious and reported that Avigdor Lieberman appeared to rule out such a partnership. AP also noted a precedent from 2021, when an Arab party joined a governing coalition that remained in office for about 18 months.
AP has described a unity government as another possible route. It reported that Netanyahu might have to part with some current allies while opposition figures reverse campaign pledges to make such an arrangement possible. If efforts to form a government fail, another election is also a possible outcome, AP reported. Herzog’s faction consultations are scheduled to begin Nov. 4.
