Facts
- Israeli election results published on October 30, 2026, show the makeup of the 120-seat Knesset but leave open who will be prime minister, PBS NewsHour reported. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp nor opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s won a majority. A governing coalition needs 61 seats, so party leaders will now hold high-stakes negotiations.
- Arab-led parties won a historic 19 seats and could play a decisive role. PBS laid out four possible paths for an Israeli coalition.
- Path one: Eisenkot governs with Arab-led parties, for 67 seats. PBS called this politically risky for Eisenkot and his Jewish allies. Only once before, in 2021, has an Arab party joined a governing coalition, and that government lasted about 18 months.
- Path two: a Netanyahu unity government, also for 67 seats. It would require Eisenkot and right-leaning allies to join Netanyahu, sending Arab-led, ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties to the opposition. Eisenkot’s camp has vowed not to sit in government with Netanyahu.
- Path three: Netanyahu tries to win over defectors such as Naftali Bennett or Avigdor Lieberman, though both have clashed with him for years. Eisenkot has fewer options because Likud and its allied religious and nationalist parties have been loyal to Netanyahu.
- Path four: if no coalition forms, another election would likely be held early next year, with Netanyahu’s government serving as caretaker until then. A similar stalemate in 2019 led to five elections in 3½ years.
Source Read PBS NewsHour’s report here.
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