Israel entered 28 October without a clear route to a governing majority after its parliamentary election. Partial counting still left Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition grouping short of the 61 seats needed in the 120-member Knesset in the latest report checked for this update.
With about 48.4% of votes tallied, Israeli media projected 55 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc, 50 for Eisenkot’s grouping and 15 for Arab parties. These are preliminary seat projections based on an incomplete count, not final allocations. They supersede the earlier exit-poll picture and can shift as further ballots are processed.
Netanyahu called for a strong right-wing government. Eisenkot said voters had rejected Netanyahu’s continued leadership and urged him to retire. The competing political messages did not resolve the parliamentary arithmetic or establish an agreed next government.
Reported turnout reached 77.7%, roughly seven percentage points above the comparable figure in 2022. High participation explains the scale of public engagement, but it does not tell either side how to assemble a coalition. Smaller parties, including Arab-led lists, remain important to the eventual balance.
The final distribution of seats depends on the completed count, including ballots processed separately. Government formation is a further stage involving presidential consultations and negotiations between parties. A lead in a partial projection is not equivalent to the ability to govern. For now, the clearest development is the absence of an easy majority, rather than a confirmed victory for either candidate.
Updated on 28 October 2026.
