Exit polls have hardened into a confirmed deadlock, with nearly 90 percent of votes counted showing Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc at 53 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc at 48, while Arab-led parties hold a record 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset — leaving neither main bloc at the 61-seat threshold to govern [3][10]. Live tallies shifted as counting progressed: DW's count at a comparable stage showed the opposition at 49 seats and Arab-led parties at 17 [9]. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot publicly vowed to form a government, and Israel's stock market fell on the inconclusive result [10][34][35]. Turnout reached 77.7 percent, the highest since 1999, in the first election since the October 7 attacks and the subsequent wars [23][31][26].
Netanyahu declared that Likud remained the largest party and called for “a strong, right-wing national government,” rejecting any reliance on Arab-led parties [9][10][14]. He cited military achievements and what he called a unique opportunity with US President Donald Trump to remove the Iranian threat, stating, “Iran is weaker than ever; Israel is stronger than ever” [24][10]. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Arab parties would not be allowed to roll back the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria and vowed to continue Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank [14][23]. Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán preemptively congratulated Netanyahu and Likud, saying they had defied all forecasts and proved critics wrong [29].
Eisenkot said the public had “expressed no confidence in the government of October 7th” and called on Netanyahu to resign, pledging a Zionist mobilisation government [3][9]. He warned security chiefs that Netanyahu was now “a caretaker prime minister, without a mandate or the people’s trust” and urged them to resist any political use of the security apparatus [10]. Defense Minister Israel Katz denounced Eisenkot's appeal as an anti-democratic call for military officials to disobey the prime minister's directives [17][25]. Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman said Netanyahu had acted like the leader of a criminal organization and should leave political life [18].
Arab-led parties argued their record showing denied Netanyahu a majority and made them indispensable to any alternative government [3][10]. Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said his party was “ready to pave the way for the ousting of the Netanyahu government” through a Jewish-Arab partnership, offering outside support rather than coalition participation [16][25]. Ra'am leader Mansur Abbas declared, “We are here, we are not on the sidelines” [16]. Left-wing Democrat leader Yair Golan urged the opposition to form a government “in partnership with Israel's Arab citizens,” rejecting what he called Netanyahu's “racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes” [7][9][16]. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have effectively ruled out governing with Arab parties, with Eisenkot laying out conditions including denouncing Hamas that make their participation politically impossible [8][16][31].
Likud accused Arab parties of stealing the election “through serious criminal offences of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters,” and said it was transferring evidence to police and Shin Bet [3][16][25] — an accusation The Guardian noted was made without evidence [16]. The Central Elections Committee said it would review election integrity claims as part of routine post-election oversight [16].
German Bundestag Deputy Speaker Omid Nouripour said Netanyahu's campaign against Arab Israelis had “mobilized people to such an extent that there is no longer a majority for this camp” [9]. Strategic adviser Nili Reichman said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's rhetoric effectively campaigned for the Arab parties [28]. Israeli journalist Mikhail Gurevich argued that Arab turnout reached a record partly due to Ben-Gvir's campaign of antagonizing Israeli Arabs [22].
President Isaac Herzog urged all parties to come with an open mind and “do everything we can to avoid another round of elections” [7][9][16]. Herzog will begin consultations after official results and must judge whether Netanyahu or Eisenkot can build a coalition capable of winning a confidence vote [8]. Joint List Knesset member Ofer Cassif said another election would be a gift to Netanyahu [18]. Figures around Netanyahu are exploring a unity government with Eisenkot, including a possible rotation and an initial coalition without the Haredi parties [39].
Analyst Jean-Loup Samaan argued the election reveals entrenched fragmentation, with Likud remaining largest despite marginal erosion, Eisenkot failing to offer a compelling alternative, and Arab parties gaining but shunned by both main blocs [8]. International Crisis Group analyst Mairav Zonszein said the refusal to partner with Palestinian Arab parties “has real implications for Israel's already flawed democracy, for basic civil rights and will encourage further destruction of liberal institutions” [16]. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the next government to change course, warning against continuing warfare “where you think you are above international law” [9][16].
The shekel slid approximately 2 percent and the Tel Aviv stock index dropped about 3 percent on the inconclusive result [34][35]. Finance professor Naser Mufrej said a Netanyahu-led right-wing coalition would raise economic uncertainty and weaken the shekel and growth, while an opposition-led government backed by Arab parties could restore investor confidence [34]. Chief investment officer Vijay Valecha said the new government would need a comprehensive economic emergency plan to tackle deficit, defense spending and cost-of-living challenges [34].
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the group was “not concerned with who governs Israel” and vowed to continue resistance until Israel leaves Lebanese land [15][16][25]. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any Israeli military action in the Persian Gulf would have a devastating impact on international markets [25]. Displaced Gaza residents saw little difference between the candidates, with one saying, “All of their policies towards Gaza are tough, but we choose the lesser of two evils” — hoping Eisenkot prevails [16]. An unnamed senior Palestinian Authority official said the PA hopes Eisenkot wins and fears Netanyahu staying, describing the choice as between “the bad” and “the worse” [44]. Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri said Eisenkot and Netanyahu are two sides of the same coin [37].
Trump said his endorsement “helped him a lot” and said he would “take a look” at helping Netanyahu form a government [10][16][33]. A US official told The Times of Israel that Washington has not decided whether to intervene and called reports of preferred constellations “false and premature” [32]. Former US intelligence official Jonathan Panikoff said it is hard to imagine any real daylight between a future Israeli leadership and Trump on escalating against Iran [33].
The Central Elections Committee is processing more than 500,000 special ballots — estimates of the outstanding double-envelope ballots ranged from roughly 430,000 to 650,000 — and expects no new results before Thursday [3][5][9][12]. Herzog will begin consultations with party leaders after official results are published, granting a mandate to the legislator he judges most likely to form a government [8][23][30]. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has asked the High Court to block extension of the civil service law that lets Haredim opt for national service instead of military service, arguing it harms equality and the army's wartime manpower needs [41].