With the final results for Israel’s general election published by the Central Elections Committee, no clear winner has emerged, thus leaving the country in a political deadlock.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud emerged as the largest party with 27 seats in the polls, while former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar secured 21. The pro-Netanyahu bloc in total won 53 seats, and rival Eisenkot’s opposition bloc secured 48 seats. In a surprise, the Arab parties – Joint List and Ra’am – won 19 seats in a historic showing. However, no party or bloc could reach the 61-seat majority mark in the 120-seat Knesset, which will set off a slew of negotiations from all sides to form a coalition government.
Here are four possible scenarios how Israel can get a new government. If Netanyahu can convince the right-wing parties in rival Eisenkot’s bloc to break away and join him, he could lead a majority coalition government. The Likud leader’s options lie in Naftali Bennett – who jointly leads the B’Yachad with Yair Lapid – and Avigdor Lieberman.
The former IDF chief will need at least six lawmakers from the Arab parties for the initial confidence vote, NYT reported. However, Eisenkot’s Yashar and all other parties in the opposition bloc, except the Democrats, have ruled out support from Arab parties to form government. Eisenkot, who has rejected alliances with parties that do not support Israel’s Jewish character, would see the Arab parties as a liability, and a coalition with them would go against his election promises. In another possible scenario, Eisenkot could leave Arab lawmakers out of the coalition and could secure their agreement to form a minority government. However, it is uncertain whether Arab leaders will support a government they have been excluded from. This has also led to shaky, short-lived governments and unlikely alliances over the years. Netanyahu’s current government is the first to complete its full four-year term.
Bennett’s political career began with Netanyahu, and he joined the Netanyahu-led coalition following the 2015 election, wherein he was education minister. However, he was out of Netanyahu’s government in 2020. Lieberman was pivotal in turning Netanyahu into Likud’s dominant figure in 1996, the year the latter first became PM. Between 2019 and 2022 itself, Israel headed to polls five times as parties failed to form a government or hold a coalition, New York Times reported.
Both right-wing hardliners on security, they share political ground with Netanyahu and could be his best bet, according to BBC.
