In brief
Early results show Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right‑wing bloc heading toward 53 seats, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s coalition is projected to win 48, both falling short of the 61 needed for a majority. The Arab‑dominated Joint List and Ra’am are set for a record 19 seats, a high point as only 5.7 million of 7.3 million eligible voters have cast ballots, a 77.7% turnout. The final tally, including special double‑envelope ballots, is expected by Thursday, with investors reacting negatively as stock indices fall amid uncertainty.
Israel’s parliamentary election remains inconclusive as counting continues through Thursday, with no single bloc achieving an outright majority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right‑wing coalition is projected to win 53 seats, 15 fewer than the 68 it secured in the previous Knesset, while the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is expected to obtain 48 seats.
Arab parties, dominated by the Joint List and the Ra’am, are poised for a record 19 Knesset seats, eclipsing the 15 seats won in 2020. This development comes as Jewish turnout stands at 77.7 percent of the 7.3 million eligible voters, the highest since 1999.
The Central Elections Committee has counted over 5.7 million ballots but 500,000 special double‑envelope ballots—voters stationed abroad, soldiers and diplomats—remain to be tallied, while the final seat distribution could shift depending on these votes.
Investor sentiment has been muted, after Tel Aviv’s TA-35 index fell 1.81 percent on Wednesday and the Israeli shekel weakened 1.62 percent against the dollar, according to figures released by the Bank of Israel.
"With the numbers we have now, there is no government," said Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas to Israel’s Channel 12 as exit polls indicated 17 seats for the Arab bloc and 48 for the opposition.
Gadi Eisenkot, meanwhile, posted on social media that the preliminary results signal "complete distrust in Netanyahu and the government of Oct. 7," stating that the outcome would be a "victory for the statist‑Zionist majority in Israel."
