Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc has moved ahead in Israel’s general election, according to partial results reported on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, but it still does not have enough seats for a parliamentary majority.
The election was held on Tuesday, with turnout reported at a record high. It is Israel’s first election since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.
With nearly 86% of votes tallied, Israel’s three main broadcasters projected Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties at 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, against 48 for the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, while parties representing Arab Israelis were projected to win 19 seats. A majority needs 61 seats. These are partial, projected figures, and counting continues.
Exit polls on election night had put the two blocs roughly tied at about 51 seats each, so the count has moved in Netanyahu’s favour.
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have vowed to form a government. Netanyahu called for “a strong, right-wing national government”. He stays on as caretaker prime minister while Israel’s president decides whom to ask to form a government.
The Arab electorate, about 21% of Israel’s population, turned out in unprecedentedly high numbers, and Arab parties could now hold the balance of power. Eisenkot’s route to a government would likely need Arab support, something he has previously ruled out, so analysts see a unity government or another election as the possible ways out.
Source: Reuters
Note: The featured image is illustrative only and is not a photo of the election itself.
