Israel’s election ended in deadlock. Here are four ways out
Jerusalem — Israel faces weeks, possibly months, of political limbo after final results show there’s no clear winner in its elections. Neither of the two main blocs – one led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, the other led by the centrist Yashar party of his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot – have reached the … The post Israel’s election ended in deadlock. Here are four ways…
Israel's recent elections have left the country in a state of political uncertainty following the absence of a clear winner. Neither of the two main blocs, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and Gadi Eisenkot's centrist Yesh Atid party, have secured the necessary 61-seat majority to form a government in Israel's 120-seat parliament. In order to establish a new government, several potential scenarios have been proposed.
One possible path forward is the formation of an opposition government. While this would require Jewish-Arab cooperation, the two right-wing opposition leaders, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman, have shown reluctance to include the two Arab parties – the Joint List and Raam – in their potential coalition. Although the Joint List did form an eight-party coalition that ousted Netanyahu in 2021, it only lasted for a year.
Despite the complications and political tension, the opposition parties could still work together to constrain Netanyahu's caretaker government.
Another option under consideration is the creation of a national unity government. This scenario would involve Netanyahu's Likud party alongside some of his existing coalition partners and at least one opposition party. Although Netanyahu is reportedly open to distancing himself from far-right Minister Ben-Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the ultra-Orthodox parties remain reluctant to join a unity government with Netanyahu.
Critics argue that this would be seen as a betrayal by Israelis seeking to remove Netanyahu from power.
A third scenario involves a government led by Netanyahu, with the support of defectors from the opposition. This option would entail a coalition government with a majority of Likud members and defectors from the opposition bloc, but it remains unclear whether opposition leaders, particularly Eisenkot, would be willing to collaborate with Netanyahu. If no solution is reached within the 12-week window available, Israelis will once again face the polls.
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