No winner in Israel's election: Likud seeks probe into Arab parties' “fraud,” Eisenkot vows to fight on

Israel's parliamentary election produced no clear winner. With about 85% of the vote counted, according to ATSH (the Albanian Telegraphic Agency), citing the Times of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 53 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's bloc 48, well short of a 61-seat majority in the 120-member Knesset. The Arab parties, the Joint List and Ra'am, are expected to win 19 seats between them, 12 and 7, a result described as historic.

Likud speaks of a “stolen” election

Netanyahu's Likud party asked police and the Shin Bet internal security service to investigate Arab parties for fraud. Likud says it has submitted “hundreds” of pieces of evidence of possible irregularities, including vote buying, threats, violence, document forgery and illegal programs used to mobilize voters. The Central Elections Committee is reviewing the complaint, but the allegations have not been proven, and a committee official had earlier rejected the fraud claims.

Eisenkot: long days ahead

Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition's leading candidate, acknowledged on X that the nearly final results leave his party at a disadvantage, but said his team remains focused on changing the country and forming a new government committed to military service. He blamed the current government for the failures of Oct. 7 and thanked the “hundreds of thousands” of citizens who placed their trust in him.

Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said his party is ready to work with an opposition-led government to remove Netanyahu from power, but ruled out joining a coalition directly under current circumstances. Former government spokesperson Eylon Levy told Euronews the options are a unity government, a minority government or new elections. In the meantime, Netanyahu remains at the head of the government as caretaker prime minister.