Israel's election yields no clear majority as Arab-led parties post strong showing

Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, appears to have won enough seats to govern on his own after Israel's parliamentary vote, according to the Associated Press, as carried by PBS NewsHour, and BBC News.

The AP reported that once 85% of ballots were tallied, Likud stood at 20.8% while Eisenkot's Yashar trailed at 16.1%. That marks a drop for Likud, which took 23.4% in 2022. Arab-led lists together drew 14.9% of the counted vote.

The two outlets described the seat math somewhat differently. Citing projections in Israeli media, the AP said Likud and its partners were on course for 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, the Yashar camp for 48 and Arab-led lists for 19, with 61 required for a majority. The BBC said Netanyahu's camp seemed only narrowly below that threshold, though analysts warned the early tally was weighted toward right-leaning districts.

The AP put participation near 78%, a level not seen since 1999, while the BBC described it as topping 77%. About 500,000 absentee votes, mostly cast by troops and diplomats, were still being counted. The AP expected a final tally by week's end; the BBC said results would reach President Isaac Herzog next week.

The BBC reported that Arab-led lists, representing communities that make up roughly 20% of Israelis, tied or topped their best-ever seat total. According to the AP, Netanyahu refuses any alliance with them and on Wednesday cautioned against a "dangerous government" including them; those parties have likewise refused to back him.

The AP said Eisenkot has not ruled out working with Arab lists, provided they accept conditions such as acknowledging Israel's Jewish character and labeling Hamas extremist. Some of his probable allies oppose that idea. The BBC noted that Avigdor Lieberman pledged during the campaign to stay out of any minority coalition dependent on Arab votes.

Mansour Abbas, who heads the United Arab List, or Ra'am, told supporters, "We are here, we are not on the sidelines," the AP reported. His party was briefly part of a ruling coalition in 2021.

The BBC reported that Netanyahu and Eisenkot each promised supporters overnight to assemble the next government. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption and denies the charges, stopped short of claiming victory.

Under the process outlined by the BBC, Herzog will meet with party leaders and choose the candidate seen as best positioned, who then has a maximum of six weeks to build a coalition. "We must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," Herzog said, according to the AP. Should every attempt fail, voters could return to the polls, perhaps early next year, the AP said. A comparable impasse led to five Israeli elections from 2019 through 2022.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour and BBC News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/549