What to know after Israel's election results give neither Netanyahu nor the opposition a majority

JERUSALEM: Final election results have been released in Israel, leaving uncertainty since neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the main opposition's has a won a majority in parliament.

Weeks of negotiations to build a majority coalition and name a prime minister likely lie ahead, with another election possible if they fail. One scenario would be Jewish and Arab-led parties opposed to Netanyahu joining forces, a rare and politically controversial move. Another would be some parties that campaigned on ousting Israel's longest-serving prime minister teaming up with him instead.

Both possibilities have prompted bitter debate in an already deeply divided country.

Here's what to know about what comes next:

Final results bring weeks of negotiations

The final vote count released by the Central Elections Committee showed Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, well below the 68 seats it had controlled at its peak in the previous parliament.

His main opposition, led by Yashar, the party of former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats and Arab-led parties secured the other 19. The count is complete, though the results still need to be certified and submitted to the country's president by Wednesday.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, even though Israelis vote on parties, not individuals. His party, Likud, received the most votes overall, but lost support compared with the previous election in 2022. Voter turnout was nearly 78 per cent, the highest since 1999.

Israel's president soon will task someone with forming a government. If multiple attempts fail, the country could have new elections early next year.

Netanyahu targets Arab-led parties after strong showing

Arab-led parties were clear winners in Tuesday's elections, significantly increasing their total representation in the Knesset and potentially becoming kingmakers in the wrangling to form a governing coalition.

Eisenkot has left the door open to partnering with them under certain conditions, including recognition of the Gaza-based Hamas as an extremist group, but some of his other likely partners have ruled it out.

Netanyahu has refused to form a government relying on Arab parties. Now he and Likud are amplifying allegations they are stealing the election and have asked the elections committee to investigate. Likud has not shared evidence supporting the claim.

Claims of foreign interference emerge

Separately, the elections committee has asked the Shin Bet intelligence service to investigate allegations of unspecified foreign interference. While the letter making the request does not mention the Arab-led parties, Netanyahu cited it in arguing that no party should cooperate with them.

Netanyahu's opponents have accused him of using scare tactics and trying to create a narrative to further discrimination against Arab-led parties and Israel's Arab citizens, who are 20 per cent of the population.

It was not clear who made the latest interference allegations. But Qatar issued a sharp statement denying it had funded “any activities intended to influence” the elections' outcome. Many Israelis see the energy-rich Gulf Arab country as a patron of Hamas, and allegations of its influence have roiled Israeli politics in other cases.

Oct. 7's enduring impact is reflected in results

The election was held against the backdrop of the trauma of the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 others, and the ensuing wars in Gaza and beyond.

The deadliest day in Israel's history featured prominently in the campaigns. Israelis tended to be focused on the security failures surrounding Oct. 7 rather than on the humanitarian situation in war-devastated Gaza.

Netanyahu has rejected an investigation into Oct. 7. His supporters say he led the country back from that difficult day and scored important achievements in wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Some of Netanyahu's opponents have said creating a commission of inquiry would be among their first acts in power.

Especially since Oct. 7, many Jewish Israelis view their Arab fellow citizens with suspicion because of their sympathies with other Palestinians.

Exemptions from military service have been divisive

The country also has been deeply divided by exemptions from military service granted to the rapidly growing ultra-Orthodox population. The exemptions are especially contentious after three years of wars, with nearly 1,000 soldiers and reservists killed.

Netanyahu's governing coalition has long relied on ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that have demanded the exemptions remain in place. Eisenkot, who lost his son to combat in Gaza, has vowed to end the exemptions.