Live Updates: Eisenkot looks to haredim to help unseat Knesset speaker, Netanyahu bloc 'hopes for a miracle'
Shaked, Liberman reportedly meet amid coalition negotiations • Shas waiting for UTJ to take first step toward Eisenkot • A-G Baharav-Miara says no evidence of foreign election interference
Follow us on GoogleMK Avigdor Liberman and MK Gadi Eisenkot at a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, September 9, 2024(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
MK Porush says party will not joint gov’t without solution for yeshiva students
B'Yachad's Yonatan Shalev arrives at Knesset for orientation
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFYonatan Shalev (B'Yachad) arrives at the Knesset on Monday for the first time for Knesset orientation day.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Official photos of 26th Knesset shared ahead of swearing-in ceremony
ByMARC ISRAEL SELLEMOfficial photos of 26th Knesset shared ahead of swearing-in ceremony.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The final voter turnout was 77.7% when polls closed at 10:00 p.m., according to the Central Elections Committee (CEC), up 7.1% from the 2022 election.
Likud remains the largest party: Netanyahu's Likud won 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar with 21 and Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad with 12.
Netanyahu's bloc leads, but falls short of a majority: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats.
Arab parties hold 19 seats: The Joint List and Ra'am secured a combined 19 seats, giving them a potentially decisive role in efforts to form the next government.
What happens next? President Isaac Herzog has awarded the mandate to Eisenkot, presenting him with the task of forming the next government. Eisenkot will initially have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to form a coalition.
Could Israel face another election? If no candidate succeeds in forming a government through the prescribed process, the political deadlock could ultimately lead to another election.