Israeli Elections: Vote Count Completed, Netanyahu’s Coalition Fails to Secure a Majority

According to the results released by Israel’s Central Elections Committee on Friday, the coalition comprising right-wing and far-right parties led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Netanyahu’s Likud Party emerged as the largest parliamentary party, winning 27 seats.

The opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats. Meanwhile, Arab parties Ra’am and the Joint List won a combined total of 19 seats, putting them in a potentially decisive position in the formation of the next government. The fragmented election results are likely to lead to several weeks of difficult negotiations over government formation. No political bloc has secured the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority. If the negotiations fail, the possibility of holding another election also remains. The final results emerged amid allegations raised by Netanyahu supporters on Thursday that Arab Israeli parties had received financial assistance from foreign countries to influence the election.

Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, confirmed that it had launched an investigation into suspected electoral irregularities. However, it clarified that the investigation was not intended to target any particular group of voters who had cast their ballots through democratic and legal means. Acting Director General of Shin Bet, Din Levin, described claims of widespread electoral irregularities as “completely baseless.” At the centre of the controversy are allegations that the Arab party Ra’am received money from Qatar, which was allegedly used in vote-buying operations.

In a statement on Thursday, Netanyahu’s Likud Party said, “The Ra’am Gate scandal is a political earthquake. Israel’s elections have been stolen.” Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas denied any wrongdoing and welcomed the investigation. Meanwhile, the Joint List accused Netanyahu and his allies of launching an “incitement campaign” out of fear of the growing political influence of Arab voters. Opposition leaders accused Netanyahu of attempting to undermine public confidence in the election results after failing to secure the majority needed to form a government.

It is worth noting that Netanyahu himself has also faced allegations concerning Qatar. Last year, two of his aides were arrested over allegations that they had received payments from Qatar. Joint List leader Youssef Jabareen told the international news agency AFP that his party was willing to cooperate with the opposition to bring down Netanyahu’s government, but would not join any new government. During the election campaign, Netanyahu had also levelled allegations of electoral fraud, claiming that Arab parties had been caught with envelopes containing cash. The Likud Party repeated these allegations on Thursday.