Just over 91 percent of the votes had been counted on Thursday morning.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party and current coalition continue to have an advantage in terms of the number of seats in the Knesset. They appear to have won 53, while the bloc led by opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot appears to have won 48. This means neither is close to a majority on its own.
The growth of the Arab-Israeli opposition was already clear on election night. It could play a pivotal role, depending on how the larger blocs choose to act. Based on the count at the time of writing, the Joint List and Ra'am are set to win 19 seats together, which would be the largest share won by Arab parties in an Israeli election.
Divided opinions
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any cooperation with the Arab parties and consistently described them as a threat. The day after the election, his Likud party accused them of “stealing” the election through various crimes.
The election authority has dismissed the claims entirely. The Israeli police also say there is no basis for them.
Gadi Eisenkot has openly stated his intention to take power with passive support from the Arab-Israeli parties, but opinions within his prospective coalition are sharply divided.
Democrats leader Yair Golan came out early in favour of a new alliance with them to oust Benjamin Netanyahu. The more nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu has opposed this and, according to Israeli media reports, is more interested in a unity government with Likud.
May need both
The Arab parties are also not united. The Joint List is an alliance of left-leaning and secular parties that have so far been sceptical about negotiating with the government.
Ra'am is a conservative, moderate Islamist party that has taken a more pragmatic approach to government. It was part of the broad coalition that took power from Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021–22, becoming the first Arab-Israeli party to govern Israel.
The Joint List is projected to win 12 seats and Ra'am seven in the ongoing vote count.
If the large opposition bloc turns to them in the upcoming government negotiations, the Joint List will need to be on board this time for them to tip the scales.
The parties in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, are split into two main blocs. Before the October 27 election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled with a narrow majority.
Netanyahu's bloc has included Likud (Netanyahu's right-wing conservative party), Shas (an ultra-Orthodox religious party), the Torah Party (also an ultra-Orthodox right-wing party), Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit, a far-right, ultra-nationalist party led by Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir), Religious Zionism (a right-wing nationalist party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich), and Noam (a small, ultra-conservative religious party).
The opposition “change bloc” includes Yashar (a newly formed centrist party led by former commander-in-chief Gadi Eisenkot), Beyahad (“Together,” a centrist party formed through a merger of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s party), the Democrats (a left-wing party led by Yair Golan), and Yisrael Beiteinu (a secular right-wing party).
Outside the two blocs are two Arab parties: Ra'am and the Joint List alliance.
