Israel Election Leaves No Bloc With Clear Majority

Israel’s 26th Knesset election, the country’s first national vote since the October 2023 Hamas attack, left no bloc with a clear majority and set up potentially prolonged coalition negotiations. Early tallies put Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance at about 55 seats, while opposition parties and Arab-led factions together appeared to have enough support for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Arab parties could be pivotal, though opposition leaders are divided over cooperating with them; opposition leader Yair Golan urged Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc to partner with them, and some figures reportedly considered major compromises to remove Netanyahu and his far-right allies. Turnout topped 77 percent, the highest in more than two decades.