Political horse-trading was underway in Israel on Friday after a final tally confirmed that neither major bloc won enough seats in this week’s parliamentary election to form a government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s group lost its majority but still won 53 seats, the main opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48, and Arab-led parties secured an unprecedented 19. Now parties must find a way to team up for 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
“Now comes the hard part,” centrist politician Yair Lapid said. “If you want to know if something’s happening behind the silence, the answer is yes.”
The results will be submitted next Wednesday to President Isaac Herzog, who will task someone with forming a government. If several attempts fail, Israel faces a new election next year.
Amid the coalition talks, the new Knesset will be sworn in on Nov. 10. Eisenkot’s bloc could join forces with the Arab parties to elect a new Speaker, giving them control over the parliamentary agenda and enabling them to pass legislation.
Israelis have been holding rallies urging Eisenkot to link up with the Arab-led parties, which has happened only once before, in 2021.
“We should join forces and cooperate with the Arab parties, a legitimate population in the state of Israel,” said Miri Sklair, from Jaffa.
