53 Seats: Netanyahu Bloc Leads as Israeli Coalition Talks Stall
Israel's Central Elections Committee data shows neither side has the 61 seats required for a majority, leaving the path to the next government uncertain.
By Ryan Phillips ·
Benjamin Netanyahu's political bloc is projected to enter the next Knesset with 53 seats, according to figures released Wednesday by Israel's Central Elections Committee. The data reflects counts from nearly five million votes cast in the recent election.
Within the prime minister's camp, Likud is expected to secure 26 seats. United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit are each projected to win seven seats, while the Religious Zionist Party is slated to take six.
The opposition bloc stands at 48 seats. Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party leads this group with a projected 21 seats. B'Yachad, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, is expected to capture 12 seats, followed by Yair Golan’s Democrats with eight and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu with seven.
Arab parties are projected to hold 19 seats in total. The Joint List is expected to win 12 seats, and Ra'am is projected to take seven.
Neither side currently holds the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. A unity government between Netanyahu and Eisenkot appears unlikely, as Eisenkot has refused to serve under Netanyahu, even in a rotation arrangement. Other opposition leaders have also ruled out joining a coalition led by the prime minister.
Yair Golan argued that the opposition holds the majority when Arab parties are included. He stated that the opposition bloc reaches 65 seats, noting that 65 is greater than 55. Golan wrote on Wednesday morning that Netanyahu lost and that this outcome is how Israeli democracy works. He suggested that if a Zionist bloc were considered, the 16 members of non-Zionist Haredi parties should be subtracted from Netanyahu’s camp.
Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said his party was ready to pave the way for the ousting of the Netanyahu government. In a post on X, he described the alternative as a true and equal partnership between Jewish and Arab citizens. Ahmad Tibi, faction chairman of Hadash-Ta'al, told Army Radio that the opposition could form a government if it has the courage, adding that his party is extending a hand to help.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
