In brief
In a live‑streamed announcement, Israel’s Central Elections Committee confirmed that opposition parties captured 67 seats, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53. Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party won 48 seats, and Arab parties secured 19. President Isaac Herzog pledged to seek a government coalition amid calls for compromise, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged foreign interference. The Jerusalem Post offers contrasting numbers for the opposition seat count.
Israel’s Central Elections Committee, on Wednesday night, officially announced the results of last week’s parliamentary election, confirming that opposition parties won 67 seats in the 120‑member Knesset, compared with 53 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling bloc. The announcement was made in Jerusalem at 19:02 local time by Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who presented the figures to President Isaac Herzog.
The opposition tally includes 48 seats taken by parties aligned with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party and 19 seats captured by Arab‑led factions, the Joint List and the Muslim Ra’am party. Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has the 61 seats necessary to form a majority without outside support, meaning President Herzog will now begin consultations with political parties on forming the next government.
HEROG has urged lawmakers to "compromise… on their election promises to avoid another election and enable the formation of a stable government," adding, "In the current reality, in which there is no clear winner after the election, I ask for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill."
While the committee declared the election conducted properly, an investigation into suspected foreign interference is ongoing. Sohlberg stated that the allegations remain unproven, emphasizing that they did not justify delaying the announcement.
In contrast, the Jerusalem Post reports that the opposition bloc secured only 48 seats, contradicting the 67‑seat figure released by the Central Elections Committee. The discrepancy highlights ongoing uncertainty about the final seat distribution, with analysts calling for a clear resolution before the next government forms.
