Who will rule Israel? Netanyahu leads election but falls short of majority

According to the partial results, Netanyahu's Likud Party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies are leading in 53 of the 120 seats in parliament.

Netanyahu's challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, and his Yashar Party and allies are ahead in 48 seats, while Arab-led parties are leading in 19 seats, potentially emerging as kingmakers.

Government formation may take weeks

With no clear winner emerging, President Isaac Herzog will hold consultations with political factions before inviting the leader he believes has the best chance of forming a government.

The process could take weeks to complete, with final results still awaited.

If no party or alliance manages to form a government, Israel will have to hold fresh elections.

Netanyahu alleges election was 'stolen'

Netanyahu, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has alleged that the election was "stolen" by Arab-led parties.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister wrote, "The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters."

Eisenkot calls results 'no-confidence' in government

Eisenkot has described the election results as a reflection of the public's "no-confidence" in Netanyahu's government.

The country voted on Tuesday for the first time since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the subsequent wars in Gaza and Iran.

In a post on X, Eisenkot wrote, "This is the will of the people who expressed no confidence in the government of October 7th and the shirking, and in the bloc of shirkers in general. A bloc that is at the low point of two decades."

He added, "I feel the weight of the responsibility and the trust that hundreds of thousands of citizens, men and women, who believe in the State of Israel and Zionism, have placed in me."

US-Israel launch Operation Epic Fury on Iran

The elections were also held months after the US-Israel launched military strikes on Iran to discourage Tehran from building its nuclear weapons.
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military offensive against Iran, targeting its military and nuclear-related infrastructure, senior officials and leadership in an operation that Washington named Operation Epic Fury.

Trump said the strikes were aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, degrading its missile capabilities and eliminating what he described as threats posed by the Iranian government.

Netanyahu also defended the joint operation, saying it was intended to remove what he called an existential threat to Israel.

The attacks killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to multiple reports, and triggered retaliatory Iranian missile strikes against Israel and US-linked targets across the Gulf, escalating the conflict across the region.