Netanyahu Bloc Leads Israel Count 53 to 48, but No One Has 61

Update: Election chief orders Shin Bet probe into foreign interference suspicions as fraud claims are rejected

Updated 16:17 UTC, Oct. 29, 2026. Israel's Central Elections Committee chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, has asked the Shin Bet security service to investigate suspicions that foreign entities tried to influence Tuesday's election through improper funding, Reuters and the Associated Press reported on Thursday. Sohlberg requested findings within a week, citing the legal timetable for election appeals, and said he could not attest to the substance of the suspicions. "The integrity of elections is the heart of democracy. Take integrity away from democracy, and you deprive it of its vitality," he wrote, according to CTech.

The committee's acting director general, Dean Livne, said in a letter dated Thursday that there was no basis for claims of systematic violations. "The Knesset elections were conducted lawfully. The integrity of the elections at polling stations was rigorously safeguarded, and to the best of our knowledge, there is no basis for allegations of systematic violations of election integrity," Livne wrote, according to The Times of Israel. Police said they had arrested at least seven people in the south since Tuesday on suspicion of voter fraud, and the public broadcaster Kan said they were suspected of trying to bribe voters to cast ballots for the Ra'am party, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged on Thursday, without providing evidence, that the Arab parties' record gains were driven in part by voter fraud, Reuters reported. Likud said Qatar was behind the alleged intervention, which Qatar denied. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said: "We categorically deny allegations that Qatar has interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome." He added: "These accusations are ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure."

Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas said his party was not involved in the reported suspicious conduct and urged a full investigation. "Nothing will come of it, because there is nothing there," he said. President Isaac Herzog said the allegations must be investigated, but added: "We must not tarnish an entire community that sought to exercise its right to vote and take an active part in democracy." With nearly 93 percent of votes counted, Netanyahu's bloc held 53 seats, the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot held 48 and Arab parties held a record 19, Reuters reported. Election officials were expected to finish the count later on Thursday, and Israeli law requires the results to be certified by November 4.

Israel's election has left no bloc with a majority. With about 91 percent of the vote counted on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 53 seats in the 120 seat Knesset, the bloc led by his rival Gadi Eisenkot was on 48, and parties representing Arab Israelis were on a record 19, according to the count reported by The Guardian from the Central Elections Committee. Sixty-one seats are needed to govern.

Netanyahu lost the majority his coalition held before the vote, but he finished ahead of the opposition and his Likud party remained the largest single party. Seat breakdowns reported by Ynet put Likud on 26 seats and Eisenkot's Yashar party on 21. Analysts said the final count of absentee and military ballots was unlikely to shift the picture in a significant way.

A winner who did not win a majority

Former Netanyahu adviser Aviv Bushinsky called the result a political resurrection for a prime minister many had written off after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and the criticism of the security failures that followed. Danny Citrinowicz, a regional analyst and former military intelligence officer, put it more plainly in comments reported by Reuters. "He won by not losing," Citrinowicz said. "He managed to survive."

Turnout was high. The Central Elections Committee put overall turnout at 77.7 percent, and more than 5.4 million people had voted by 8 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, October 27, the highest figure for that hour since 1988, according to reports of the committee's figures.

The choice now facing Eisenkot

Eisenkot's path to power runs through the Arab parties, and it is narrow. Yousef Jabareen, head of the Arab majority Joint List, told AFP that the public had voted for new leadership and that anyone who wants to offer a real alternative to Netanyahu will have to talk to his parties. He said he was willing to cooperate with an opposition led government to remove Netanyahu, but was not open to joining such a coalition outright. Outside support for a minority government is the model on the table, and few observers expect it to last long if it forms at all.

Netanyahu, for his part, told supporters in Jerusalem that Likud is the nation's largest party and called for a strong right wing government. His party also filed a complaint with the Central Elections Committee alleging that Arab parties had compromised the integrity of the election. The committee said it would examine the claims as part of its routine post election review.

What happens next

If neither man can assemble 61 seats, Netanyahu stays on as head of a caretaker government and Israel faces the prospect of another election. Markets took the deadlock badly on Wednesday. The shekel weakened about 2 percent to 3.1185 to the dollar and Tel Aviv's main stock index fell about 3 percent, Reuters reported, as traders priced in a long and fragile negotiation.

The count continues on Thursday, with definitive results expected during the day. Coalition talks are expected to begin in earnest once the final tally is official.