Israel’s final election results show neither Netanyahu nor rival can immediately form government

Israel's parliamentary election ended in a near deadlock. Final tallies released Thursday gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, far fewer than the 68 it held at its height in the last parliament. The camp behind his chief challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, took 48. Neither reached the 61 needed to govern outright, according to NBC News.

The count is finished, though certification must come first, and the results go to President Isaac Herzog next Wednesday. He will then talk with party chairs and pick whoever he believes is best placed to assemble a coalition.

Arab-led parties had a breakthrough, collectively winning 19 seats as Palestinian citizens of Israel voted in record numbers, many aiming to remove Netanyahu and hard-right allies such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Netanyahu and Eisenkot both said beforehand they would not govern with Ra'am or the Joint List, yet those parties now hold potential swing influence. Yair Golan, who heads the Democrats, took the opposite view and urged a coalition including them. Ra'am chief Mansour Abbas accused Netanyahu of a campaign of incitement against Arab citizens.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →