Israel's 2026 Election Leaves Hung Parliament as Netanyahu's Bloc Holds 53 Seats

Israel’s Central Elections Committee completed the count of the October 27, 2026 parliamentary election. Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc of Likud and its right-wing and ultra-Orthodox allies secured 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The main opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party and allied Jewish parties obtained 48 seats. Arab parties, including the Joint List and Ra’am, won 19 seats, a record total.

Neither major bloc reached the 61 seats required to form a government on its own. Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister while coalition negotiations proceed. President Isaac Herzog is expected to consult party leaders after official results are certified around November 4 and then assign the first mandate to form a government. The process can last several weeks. If no coalition is formed, the Knesset is dissolved and a new election is held within 90 days.

Likud remains the largest single party with 27 seats. Yashar holds 21. Netanyahu’s previous coalition held 64 seats after the 2022 election. The current result reduces that majority to a minority. Eisenkot has previously ruled out partnerships with Arab parties, and those parties have indicated they will not support Netanyahu. Some figures within the opposition have left open the possibility of limited cooperation, but no formal agreement has been announced.

Turnout exceeded 74 percent, among the highest in recent decades. Absentee and double-envelope ballots were included in the final tallies. The new Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in around November 10. Even before a government is formed, the opposition and Arab parties could combine to elect a new speaker and influence the parliamentary agenda.

The outcome leaves Netanyahu in office as caretaker with authority over ongoing military operations, including the conflict with Iran, while coalition arithmetic remains unresolved. A second election in early 2027 is a plausible next step if the 28-day initial mandate and any extension fail to produce a majority. The distribution of the 19 Arab seats gives those parties greater leverage in any potential confidence-and-supply arrangement than they held after previous elections.

No party has claimed a clear mandate to govern alone. The immediate task is the president’s consultations and the first attempt to assemble 61 seats from the three distinct groups now represented in the Knesset.