The final vote count in Israel has confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud will be the largest party in the upcoming Knesset, though his right-wing bloc failed to secure a parliamentary majority. Official figures released by Israel’s Central Elections Committee and cited by The Jerusalem Post show that Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, while the opposing bloc striving to unseat him captured 48 seats. Both political camps fell well short of the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset, leaving Arab parties as potential powerbrokers after securing a combined 19 seats.
The final tally confirmed Likud as the leading party with 27 seats, while United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit won seven seats each, and Shas and the Religious Zionist Party took six seats apiece. These results contrasted with pre-election television polls that had predicted fewer seats for Likud and stronger performances by specific allies. With neither faction able to command an outright majority independently, attention has turned toward coalition negotiations and the possibility of a minority or unity government.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to consult party representatives after the formal publication of the final results to nominate the candidate deemed most capable of forming a government. If the designated leader fails, another figure may receive the mandate, and an inability to complete the process could trigger fresh elections. Meanwhile, the vote count unfolded amid controversy over allegations of voter fraud, leading the Central Elections Committee chairman to ask Shin Bet for an investigation into potential foreign interference in the Arab sector, though the committee stated there was no empirical basis for systematic ballot compromise.
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