Likud wins 27 seats; no bloc secures Knesset majority

Despite Likud’s first-place finish, the current coalition bloc has 53 seats, leaving it eight short of a parliamentary majority.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, emerged as the largest party in elections for the 26th Knesset after the counting of nearly 100% of the votes was completed Thursday evening, but neither of the two main political blocs secured the 61 seats needed to form a government on its own.

Likud won 27 seats, putting it six ahead of Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, which finished second with 21. They were the only two parties to receive more than 20 seats.

Beyachad secured 12 seats, followed by the Joint List with 11, making it the fourth-largest party in the 26th Knesset. The Democrats and Ra’am each won eight seats.

Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each received seven seats, while Shas, Religious Zionism and Zehut each won six.

In all, 11 lists crossed the 3.25% electoral threshold and will divide the Knesset’s 120 seats.

Despite Likud’s first-place finish, the current coalition bloc has 53 seats, leaving it eight short of a parliamentary majority.

The change bloc holds 48 seats. The Joint List and Ra’am together account for another 19 seats, giving the Arab parties a potentially significant role in negotiations over the formation of the next government.

Neither of the two main blocs can form a government independently.

The results could therefore put cooperation between parties from different political camps at the center of coalition negotiations, along with the positions taken by the two Arab parties.

The election results come as police and the Shin Bet investigate serious suspicions of election bribery and foreign interference in the voting process.

Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg contacted Shin Bet Director David Zini and requested an investigation into suspicions of foreign funding and improper influence on the elections.

Police are separately investigating suspected vote-buying in the Negev.

The investigations concern allegations being examined by the authorities; no findings from either investigation were included in the results.

Two other parties failed to secure representation in the 26th Knesset after falling below the electoral threshold.

The Reservists and Economic Party received 2.72% of the vote, short of the required 3.25%, while Amcha Yisrael received 1.68%.

Votes cast for parties that did not cross the threshold do not give those parties representation in the Knesset. All 120 seats will instead be distributed among the 11 lists that passed it.