What Comes Next for Netanyahu After His Bloc Loses Its Knesset Majority

Election results shift the balance

Final results show Netanyahu’s far-right bloc holds 53 Knesset seats, down from 68. The four parties in the main bloc opposing him won 48 seats. That leaves the opposition bloc needing support from Arab parties to attempt to form a coalition, assuming no lawmakers aligned with Netanyahu defect. Most Jewish-led parties opposing Netanyahu had vowed before the vote not to depend on Arab-party support.

Likud alleges election theft

On Thursday, Likud claimed the election had been stolen by Arab-majority parties, alleging foreign funding that amounted to vote-buying. The party’s statement also asserted that the alleged effort aimed at a foreign takeover of the Knesset and other outcomes.

Israel media reports said a Shin Bet investigation would consider whether Qatar sent money to Arab parties to increase turnout among Arab Israeli voters. In a Thursday statement, the agency said an investigation of this type was focused and bounded, and would not cast aspersions on an entire sector that voted legally and democratically.

Coalition and next steps remain uncertain

Gadi Eisenkot, head of the centrist Yashar party and the leading candidate to replace Netanyahu, said he was concerned Netanyahu could use the stolen-election allegation to justify delaying or disqualifying the results. The article does not say whether that will happen.

After the new Knesset is sworn in, Eisenkot’s bloc and the Arab parties could begin passing laws because they would control a parliamentary majority, even if a new government had not yet been decided. Whether the opposition parties will cooperate to form a coalition remains unresolved.