(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on October 28, 2026, showsYashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot (L) addressing his supporters at the election night rally in Tel Aviv early on October 28, 2026, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to the media after voting in Jerusalem on October 27, 2026.

Maya Levin, jewel Samad | Afp | Getty Images

Israel’s final election count left both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot short of the 61 seats needed to form a government.

The outcome sets up weeks of coalition bargaining and political uncertainty, with the opposition alliance facing an uphill battle to assemble a majority government in the 120-seat Knesset.

Netanyahu’s Likud party and its hard-right allies won 53 seats in the Knesset, according to the Central Elections Committee, short of the 61 needed for a majority and down from 64 seats in the 2022 election.

The main opposition bloc, led by Eisenkot, won 48 seats, falling short of the 61 needed for a majority.

Eisenkot now faces a difficult coalition path. Most parties in his bloc have rejected relying on the Arab-led parties, while Eisenkot has said neither meets his conditions for a partnership. The Joint List and Ra’am won a combined 19 seats, an all-time high for Arab-led parties.

Netanyahu's party has intensified claims that the Arab-led parties "stole" the election, amplifying an allegation that spread after exit polls showed the prime minister's bloc had suffered a setback.

Likud asserted Thursday, without evidence, that foreign interference was "aimed at facilitating a foreign takeover of the Knesset, the Islamization of Israel and toppling of the right wing government."

The statement came a day after Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, asked the Shin Bet security agency to investigate "serious suspicions" of improper influence through funding from foreign entities.

Sohlberg said he couldn't attest to the substance of the suspicions and directed agencies to verify the claims.

Qatar, accused of trying to mobilize Arab voters, has denied interfering in the elections, calling the allegations “ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure.”

Opposition leaders also called for a full investigation, while warning against using the allegations to cast doubt on or otherwise influence the election results.

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Although the vote count is complete, the results remain subject to possible “minor corrections” before they are certified and submitted to President Isaac Herzog next Wednesday, according to the Central Elections Committee.

The new Knesset is due to be sworn in Nov. 10, while parties have until Nov. 18 to challenge the results.

A prolonged political stalemate could leave Netanyahu in office as caretaker prime minister through another round of coalition negotiations or potentially another election. A return to war with Iran also remains a key risk.

"Bibi [Netanyahu] is known as a 'comeback kid.' He did not become the longest-serving prime minister by accident," said P R Kumaraswamy, emeritus professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, adding that he expected Netanyahu to maintain his current approach on Iran and Gaza for now.

Israeli assets have come under pressure this week with the shekel sustaining the worst intraday decline since 2023 on Wednesday before regaining ground. Tel Aviv's key benchmark stock index dropped 4.1% for the week as of Friday morning, according to LSEG data.

"We expect some near-term volatility for Israeli assets until a new government is formed and decides on fiscal consolidation and war-related spending," said Eirini Tsekeridou, a fixed-income analyst at Julius Baer. She added that Israel's economic fundamentals and monetary policy should provide support.

President Herzog will begin consulting with the competing parties next week and name the leader he believes has the best chance of forming a majority government.

Netanyahu may get the first call to kick off the 28-day process to build a coalition that can be extended by up to 14 day.

If those efforts fail, new elections will be called with Netanyahu remaining in office in the interim. The previous government-formation efforts have taken between 20 and 100 days, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.

Netanyahu could also push for a national unity government, arguing that the country should come together as it faces conflict on several fronts, though many of his opponents have ruled out such an arrangement.

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