Israel’s election deadlock: What could happen next?

More Israelis voted in Tuesday’s election than in any poll since 2001, yet neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his challengers have a straightforward path to power. Complicating matters are the stunning gains made by the Joint List and Ra’am, two slates representing Palestinian citizens of Israel that almost all Israeli political leaders have promised to exclude from any future governing coalition. With 85 percent of votes counted on Wednesday, Netanyahu and his allies stood on 53 seats, while former army chief Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc had 48. The Palestinian parties together sat on 19. A minimum of 61 of the 120 seats in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, are needed to form a majority government, and no one is close to that magic number. Middle East Eye explores the possibilities as coalition-building negotiations set to begin. Read more: Israel’s election deadlock: What could happen next? Gadi Eisenkot waves an Israeli flag following the exit polls at his party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 28 October 2026 (Reuters/Shir Torem)