Israel’s parliamentary election on Tuesday produced no clear winner, with nearly 90 percent of ballots counted and both major political blocs falling short of the 61 seats needed to form a government.
asserted
blocs → produce → government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is on course to win 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot is expected to secure 48 seats.
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bloc → win → seats
The Arab-majority parties won 19 seats, a historic high, driven by record turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel of about 80 percent.
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parties → win → percent
That has placed the Arab parties at the centre of coalition arithmetic, even as several party leaders ruled out governing with them.
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leaders → place → them
So what did the main contenders say in the run-up to and during the vote, and how did they fare?
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they → say → vote
In the build-up to the election, Netanyahu expressed confidence, telling The Jerusalem Post on October 22, “I’m gonna have five more terms.”
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I → express → terms
On Sunday, he targeted the opposition, with Haaretz citing a broadcast on Israel’s Channel 14 that Netanyahu warned if they win, they will “give citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians”, a move that would signal the “end of the Jewish state”.
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that → target → state
On Tuesday, he said forming a government with Arab-led parties would be “a shame and a disgrace”.
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forming → say → parties
“It is forbidden – simply forbidden – to endanger Israel and to establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties,” he told supporters.
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he → forbid → supporters
After the elections, Netanyahu’s Likud party took aim at Palestinian citizens of Israel who voted.
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who → take → Israel
In a party statement shared by Netanyahu, it claimed the elections “were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offences”.
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that → share → offences
According to The Times of Israel, police and the Central Elections Committee have already dismissed these claims.
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police → accord → claims
What the results show:
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results → show → What
But his bloc has 53 seats, eight short of a majority.
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bloc → have → majority
Gadi Eisenkot, Yashar Party: ‘I do not see an Arab party that accepts my principles’
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that → see → principles
In a September interview with The Jerusalem Post, he dismissed the idea he would need to form a coalition with Arab parties: “I believe the majority we receive will be much larger than what the polls currently show,” adding “I do not see an Arab party that accepts my principles.”
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that → dismiss → principles
He also said his “inner feeling is that I now have the ability to defeat Netanyahu”.
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I → say → Netanyahu
Eisenkot rallied Israelis to get rid of “the worst government Israel has known”.
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Israel → rally → government
However, he acknowledged how tight the race was, saying, “We are on perhaps the most critical day since the founding of the state.”
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We → acknowledge → state
On Wednesday, Eisenkot told his supporters the Israeli public “voted against” Netanyahu and promised, “to ensure that the people’s decision is translated into a Zionist government”.
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decision → tell → government
What the results show: Yashar is on course for 21 seats, with 16.16 percent.
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Yashar → show → percent
His bloc has 48, 13 short of a majority, and he cannot reach 61 without the Arab-led parties.
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he → have → parties
Naftali Bennett, Together Party: ‘The October 7 government is going home’
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government → go → ?
In February, months before the vote, Bennett told a closed conference of party activists that he stood by his 2021 decision to govern with Ra’am, but said he would not repeat it.
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he → tell → it
He said, “We will establish a unity government under my leadership …
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We → say → leadership
We are going to win, and we are going to form it,” Israel National News reported.
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News → go → it
“Netanyahu has lost, and the October 7 government is going home,” Bennett told supporters in Tel Aviv.
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Bennett → lose → Aviv
In a post on X, Bennett told Israelis to “lift your heads” and said he will do everything “to establish a Zionist Alliance of Servants government”.
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he → tell → government
What the results show:
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results → show → What
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Otzma Yehudit: Palestinians in Gaza ‘shouldn’t live’
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Palestinians → live → Gaza
In his election campaign, Ben-Gvir expressed his most genocidal views yet, saying in August that there are Palestinians in Gaza “who are not worthy of life.
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who → express → life
They shouldn’t live.
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They → live → ?
They’re not even people.”
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They → ’re → ?
He called for Israel to kill “30 to 40” people in Gaza every night.
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Israel → call → Gaza
“If you want this country to stay Jewish and Zionist, if you don’t want it to be in the hands of (Israeli Knesset members) Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi, go out and vote,” he told supporters at the entrance to the Arab city of Kafr Qasim.
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he → want → Qasim
Otzma Yehudit is on course for seven seats, with 5.58 percent, less than half of the 15 he wanted.
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he → want → 15
Bezalel Smotrich, Religious Zionism-Zehut: ‘Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza’
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settlements → establish → Gaza
In a statement he issued in August, he promised an expansion of his settlement “revolution” with a programme for the “Judaization of the Negev and the Galilee” at the expense of Palestinians, as part of his campaign.
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he → issue → campaign
He warned on Facebook of high turnout in communities of Palestinian citizens of Israel, claiming that failing to mobilise right-wing voters could let “terror supporters” into government.
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failing → warn → government
That night, he told supporters “Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza.”
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settlements → tell → Gaza
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
