Netanyahu Still Short of Majority After 93.8 Percent Count, Arab Parties Rise to 19 Seats

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition has remained well short of a parliamentary majority, as newly counted ballots showed a dramatic surge in support for Arab parties, potentially giving the opposition enough votes to challenge his control of parliament.

With 93.8 percent of ballots counted as of 4 a.m. ET on Thursday (10 a.m. local time in Israel), including votes from the double-envelope count, Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc was projected to win 53 seats in Israel's 120-member Knesset, compared with 48 for the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. The two predominantly Arab parties were projected to secure a combined 19 seats, bringing the potential anti-Netanyahu parliamentary majority to 67.

The updated figures showed Netanyahu's Likud remaining the largest individual party with 26 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar party with 21 and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's Beyachad party with 12. The figures remain preliminary.

The results leave neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot with the 61 seats required to form a government independently, raising the prospect of difficult coalition negotiations or another election.

The biggest shift came from Israel's Arab voters, whose turnout surged compared with previous elections, potentially reshaping the country's political balance.

Arab voter participation reached approximately 80 percent, compared with 53.2 percent in the 2022 election, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. The 2026 figure remains preliminary.

The Joint List was projected to win 11 seats, while Ra'am was projected to secure eight. Together, their 19 seats would nearly double the Arab parties' representation from the 10 seats they won in 2022.

Overall voter turnout reached 77.7 percent by the official 10 p.m. closing time on election night, the highest level at that hour since 1999, according to Israel's Central Elections Committee.

The increased Arab participation could prove decisive in determining the next government's composition. Although Eisenkot and several other opposition leaders ruled out including Arab parties in their governing coalition during the campaign, their parliamentary support could allow the opposition to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu ally, and gain greater control over the legislative agenda even before a new government is formed.

On Thursday a Channel 12 report alleged that substantial sums originating in Qatar may have been transferred to influence voter participation in Arab communities. According to N12, some of the funds allegedly travelled through financial channels previously used to transfer money to terrorist organisations, including currency exchanges.

The allegations have not been independently substantiated, and investigators have yet to establish whether foreign financing occurred or whether election-related crimes were committed. Channel 12 reported that Shin Bet Director David Zini presented intelligence concerning suspected foreign interference to Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, prompting the judge to order an investigation.

In a letter published by N12, Sohlberg instructed the domestic security agency to investigate the allegations and identify evidence that could either substantiate or disprove them. He requested findings within one week, citing the limited time available during the election count. The judge's letter did not publicly identify Qatar as the suspected foreign actor; that identification came from N12's reporting.

Qatar strongly denied the allegations on Thursday, accusing Israeli politicians of attempting to drag the Gulf nation into Israel's domestic political disputes following the election. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dr Majed Al-Ansari wrote on X that Qatar categorically denied allegations that it had interfered in Israeli elections or funded any activities intended to influence their outcome.

Al-Ansari accused Israeli politicians and their allies in the media of launching a disinformation campaign, saying Qatar had been accused of financing Netanyahu, the Israeli left and now Arab voters. He said Qatar should not be used as a scapegoat for the political failures of certain Israeli politicians, insisting that Qatar had no involvement in Israel's electoral process.

Acting Central Elections Committee director general Dean Livne also rejected the allegations in a letter to Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak, who sits on the committee. He said the Knesset elections were conducted lawfully, the integrity of the elections at polling stations was rigorously safeguarded, and to the best of their knowledge there was no basis for allegations of systematic violations of election integrity.