Israel political deadlock leaves Netanyahu’s future hanging in the balance
With neither bloc near a majority, Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties hold the key to Israel’s next government..
Israel’s election results are due to be certified on Wednesday, but with both leading blocs falling short of a parliamentary majority, negotiations remain deadlocked.
As things stand, the right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured 53 seats in the October 27 vote, while the self-styled Zionist opposition alliance led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot had 48. A majority requires 61 seats in the 120-strong Knesset. The 19 remaining seats went to the two Arab-led lists – the Joint List and Ra’am, or the United Arab List.
Netanyahu’s camp has been accused of seeking to delegitimise the results after launching a series of largely discounted claims that the vote for the Arab parties, which scored their best-ever electoral performance, had been manipulated by foreign interference.
“All the while, he’s claiming that the Arab parties cannot be considered legitimate partners in government, which makes it almost impossible for anyone to form a coalition with them.”