Israel election: Netanyahu's bloc wins 53 seats, short of majority
The gist
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 of 120 Knesset seats, with Arab-led parties at a record 19.
Neither side has a clear path to 61 seats, so talks decide who governs.
How it unfolded
- Oct 27, 2026Israel holds its general election, the first since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks and the wars that followed. Turnout reaches 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades.
- Oct 28, 2026With 85% of ballots counted, Netanyahu's Likud and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies are on track for 53 seats, Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar and three other Jewish opposition parties for 48, and Arab-led parties for an unprecedented 19. Between 430,000 and 480,000 absentee ballots from soldiers and diplomats remain uncounted.
- Oct 28, 2026Initial exit polls from three Israeli broadcasters project Eisenkot's Change Bloc at 52-53 seats versus 50 for Netanyahu's bloc; later updates show two broadcasters at a 51-51 tie and one giving Netanyahu's bloc a three-seat lead.