By — Cara Anna, Associated Press Cara Anna, Associated Press By — Ibrahim Hazboun, Associated Press Ibrahim Hazboun, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/difficult-negotiations-lie-ahead-in-israel-after-netanyahus-bloc-lost-its-parliamentary-majority Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Difficult negotiations lie ahead in Israel after Netanyahu's bloc lost its parliamentary majority World Oct 30, 2026 11:23 AM EDT JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's final election results confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies lost their parliamentary majority and that weeks of difficult negotiations among very different parties, from ultra-Orthodox Jewish to secular to Arab-led, lie ahead. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. The results released early Friday showed Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in Tuesday's election. The main opposition bloc won 48. Arab-led parties secured the other 19, a historic showing. Now parties must meet, bargain and seek a way to team up for at least 61 seats in…
Difficult negotiations lie ahead in Israel after Netanyahu's bloc lost its parliamentary majority
In short
Final election results confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats, while the main opposition captured 48 seats. Arab-led parties won the remaining 19 seats, creating a severe parliamentary deadlock that will require extensive cross-factional bargaining to resolve. Ahead of the official tally, Netanyahu made unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties used foreign aid to steal the vote. Although Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg referred foreign interference allegations to the Shin Bet, the election commission clarified the reports were completely baseless and confirmed the final count stands.
Key points
- Neither major political faction holds the 61-seat threshold required to assemble a new go…: Neither major political faction holds the 61-seat threshold required to assemble a new governing majority.
- The country faces the prospect of another election early next year if coalition negotiati…: The country faces the prospect of another election early next year if coalition negotiations among disparate parties fail.
- The election commission confirmed that allegations of foreign interference investigated b…: The election commission confirmed that allegations of foreign interference investigated by the Shin Bet will not alter the final vote.