Netanyahu Allies Fall Short of Majority as Israel Awaits Final Results and Coalition Talks Begin

On Thursday, Israelis waited for the last ballots to be counted, though the outline of the result was already visible: neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies nor the parties trying to unseat him had won a majority of seats in parliament.

Final results could arrive as early as Thursday evening, once about half a million absentee ballots are tallied. Those come from military personnel, diplomats, people in prisons and hospitals, and others. They are not expected to change the picture dramatically. Until a new government is formed, Netanyahu remains in charge.

The weeks ahead hold hard choices. One is whether some Jewish and Arab parties would join in a historic alliance. Another is whether parties that campaigned on removing Netanyahu would drop that pledge and join forces with the deeply divisive prime minister.

His chief rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, made his first public statement on Thursday since addressing supporters early Wednesday. He spoke of a government that serves everyone and reflects the will of the people. He did not mention the possibility of partnering with the Arab-led parties, which had a strong showing as some Arab citizens broke longstanding vows never to vote in a country where they have long faced discrimination. One of those parties, the Joint List, late Wednesday pointed to an "unprecedented show of strength" and to Jewish voters "willing to swim against the tide of racism." It said it was open to political cooperation.

Netanyahu's Likud party received the most votes, yet it has accused the Arab-led parties of stealing the election and asked the election committee to investigate. It offered no specific evidence. The committee has said the number of reported irregularities in a relatively calm election was low.

Next week, President Isaac Herzog will task someone with forming the government. Tradition favors the leader of the largest party, but that is not required. If no government emerges after multiple attempts, Israel would face a new election early next year. Herzog signaled on Wednesday that he wanted to avoid that, and Eisenkot has said the same. A repeat vote would raise its own questions: whether Arab citizens would again turn out in large numbers, and whether the tens of thousands of Israelis who flew home to vote would do so again. Many of them said they made the trip to save the country from Netanyahu.

The country went into the election divided along several lines, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious, with heavy issues at stake. One is whether the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox population should keep its exemption from compulsory military service, in a country where many families have lost sons and daughters in three years of inconclusive wars. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is especially polarizing. Corruption allegations hang over him, along with accusations that he delayed deals over the Gaza war, including to free hostages, for political gain. Israel's international standing is also in play after widespread criticism of the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and growing violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Among Arab citizens, there is cautious hope. "God willing, we will have something for us in the government, something that will bring us our rights," said Brosli Elias, a resident of Nazareth, one of Israel's largest Arab cities.

A further complication is Iran. The Trump administration has spoken of new attacks after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3, and experts say Netanyahu could use a renewed all-out war to press for a unity government under his leadership. The president's appointment next week is the next marker.