Israel faces weeks of coalition haggling as Netanyahu’s party claims election 'stolen'

Israel’s final election count left both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot short of the 61 seats needed to form a government. The outcome sets up weeks of coalition bargaining and political uncertainty, with the opposition alliance facing an uphill battle to assemble a majority government in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu’s Likud party and its hard-right allies won 53 seats in the Knesset, according to the Central Elections Committee, short of the 61 needed for a majority and down from 64 seats in the 2022 election. The main opposition bloc, led by Eisenkot, won 48 seats, falling short of the 61 needed for a majority. Eisenkot now faces a difficult coalition path.