Israel election: Netanyahu's Likud leads but coalition talks stay tight
Likud won 26 seats, the most of any party, while Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party won 21. Both leaders are struggling to build a governing coalition in the Knesset.
- Likud won 26 seats; Yashar won 21.
- Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats against 48 for Eisenkot's bloc.
- Eisenkot has pledged not to sit in a coalition with Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud emerged as the largest party in Israel's Knesset after this week's general election, winning 26 seats. Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party, which had been expected to lead, won 21, according to Arab News.
Al Jazeera reported that Netanyahu and Eisenkot are now struggling to form a governing coalition. The Knesset has 120 seats.
The Netanyahu-led bloc won 53 seats, compared with 48 for Eisenkot's bloc, Arab News reported. Netanyahu and his coalition partners lost 14 seats, falling from 68 to 53. Likud lost five seats, and support for Shas was almost halved compared with the previous election four years earlier.
Arab News said the opposition and Arab parties together are on course for 67 of the 120 seats. The two Arab parties, Ra'am and the Joint List, are on course to win 19 seats.
Voter turnout was 77.7 percent of eligible voters. Arab News reported that an estimated 800,000 eligible Israeli voters live abroad and about 10 percent of them returned to vote. Israeli law generally bars citizens from voting from overseas, with exceptions for diplomats and certain merchant navy personnel.
Netanyahu has accused the Arab parties of large-scale electoral fraud, according to Arab News. Al Jazeera reported that accusations of foreign interference are also being made after the vote, and that officials dismiss them as attempts to undermine the election results.
Arab News reported that US President Donald Trump and Israeli President Isaac Herzog have reportedly both expressed support for keeping Netanyahu in power. Pressure is mounting on Eisenkot to form a national unity government with Likud, but he has pledged not to sit in a coalition with Netanyahu.
Why it matters
Israel's government shapes regional tensions over Iran and Gaza, which Pakistan follows closely. The coalition outcome will decide who leads that government.
