It was described by many Israelis as the most consequential election in their country’s history.
asserted
It → describe → history
And, as the final votes were tallied, it has delivered a result that presents Israel with a significant dilemma.
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that → tally → dilemma
Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition has lost its mandate while the opposition has a clear majority: but only if the Jewish Israeli opposition bloc, led by retired general Gadi Eisenkot, is prepared to make a governing pact with Palestinian Israeli parties, which have secured a historic result.
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which → lose → result
But the country that is desperate for change remains bitterly divided.
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that → remain → change
After a campaign mired in racism, during which Israel’s far-right demonised the Palestinian population as the enemy within, Netanyahu has gone further since Tuesday’s vote, claiming that Palestinian-led parties have “stolen the election”, despite Israeli authorities insisting there is no evidence of election fraud.
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authorities → mire → fraud
As coalition talks commence, I spoke to our chief Middle East correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison in Tel Aviv, about false narratives and the stark choice facing the country.
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I → commence → country
John Healey has backed away from cutting the cost of welfare this parliament, amid dire warnings his first budget could lead to brutal spending cuts because of a £28bn shortfall in public finances.
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budget → back → finances
The acclaimed British stage and screen actor renowned for both Shakespeare and sci-fi, died at his home in Los Angeles after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia”, his longtime spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → renowne → disease
One of the most ambitious nature recovery projects ever undertaken in England can go ahead after campaigners announced they had raised £30m to buy an estate in Northumberland.
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they → undertake → Northumberland
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Europe | Spain began three days of mourning on Thursday for at least 69 people who died in a high-speed rail collision, as hospitals continued to treat dozens of injured passengers and train drivers went on strike to urge more investment in railway safety.
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drivers → begin → safety
The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation in California over claims that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in the state, and has begun subpoenaing election officials.
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thousands → open → officials
In depth: There is no evidence of election fraud
With the final results released early on Friday local time, Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, compared with 48 for the grouping led by rival Eisenkot.
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bloc → be → Eisenkot
Palestinian parties won 19 seats, a record high.
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parties → win → seats
No single party has ever claimed a majority of 61 seats, so Israel has always been governed by coalitions.
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Israel → claim → coalitions
With neither bloc reaching the 61 seats needed for a majority in the Knesset, Israeli president Isaac Herzog is expected to invite the party most likely to be able to form a government to start coalition negotiations, and has already urged politicians to have an “open mind” before talks begin.
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talks → reach → mind
The country potentially faces weeks of rancour and uncertainty.
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country → face → rancour
Yair Golan, the leader of the centre-left Democrats, a junior partner in the Jewish Israeli opposition bloc, told Israeli media on Thursday that he was meeting Eisenkot and others for initial talks.
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he → tell → talks
If the opposition can’t agree some kind of coalition, or even secure Palestinian support for a minority government, Netanyahu may have a lifeline.
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Netanyahu → agree → lifeline
He is already pushing for a right-wing governing coalition, and would probably welcome new elections or a lengthy period of uncertainty during which he will stay on as caretaker prime minister.
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he → push → minister
That didn’t mean a shift to the left: young Israelis are more rightwing than older generations, as Emma wrote about here.
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Emma → mean → generations
The national conversation ahead of the election was dominated by security at home and abroad.
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conversation → dominate → home
Although he was in charge on 7 October 2023, when Hamas attacks resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, the prime minister tried to shift blame on to the security services.
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minister → result → services
His opponents pledged a state commission of inquiry into the events of 7 October, and spoke to voters’ concerns about the social toll of three years of multi-front wars, and anger about the draft exemption for ultra-orthodox young men when other Israelis are spending hundreds of days on reserve duty.
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Israelis → pledge → duty
Netanyahu’s false narrative
Throughout the campaign, Netanyahu and his far-right allies have framed Palestinian voters – who make up about 20% of the population – as a direct threat to the state, with Netanyahu repeating the slogan “the right or Palestine”, which rhymes in Hebrew.
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which → frame → Hebrew
“It’s both tragic and depressing,” Emma tells me, “attempting to paint Palestinians as untrustworthy citizens with dual loyalties, a racist trope that also appears in antisemitic attacks.”
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that → ’ → attacks
This tactic extended to election day, when voters received a robocall purporting to come from the prime minister falsely claiming that Palestinian party leaders had been caught with envelopes full of cash.
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leaders → extend → cash
Netanyahu and his allies repeatedly made claims about high turnout in Palestinian areas, in a bid to get his own voters out.
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Netanyahu → make → voters
Then on Wednesday night, Netanyahu reacted to the high Palestinian turnout and success of Arab Israeli parties by claiming, again without providing evidence, they had “stolen the election,” calling for the central elections committee and Shin Bet internal security agency to investigate foreign interference in the vote.
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committee → react → vote
These claims were amplified by far-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who called for the arrest of Arab Israeli leaders.
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who → amplify → leaders
He was swiftly accused of using smear tactics to cling to power.
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He → accuse → power
Eisenkot warned that Likud and Netanyahu “have embarked on a coordinated, organised campaign seeking to delegitimise the results of the election”.
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Likud → warn → election
President Herzog stepped in with a rebuke to the prime minister and said “we must avoid tarnishing an entire community”.
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we → step → community
Meanwhile, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson rejected “ridiculous and dangerous” accusations his country had interfered in Tuesday’s election.
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country → reject → election
It bears repeating: Israeli police and the central elections committee have said there is no evidence of election fraud.
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police → bear → fraud
The Palestinian-led parties who could be kingmakers
There was a surge in support for Arab parties after Palestinian citizens came out in historic numbers to vote.
Many had boycotted previous elections “on the grounds that participating endorses a discriminatory system or because they felt their representatives had little leverage”, Emma explains.
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Emma → lead → leverage
But this year, the mood changed: “They’re watching ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, a genocidal war in Gaza, and are under huge pressure inside Israel from an openly racist government, which has allowed organised crime to soar, ramped up home demolitions, and targeted political speech.
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crime → change → speech
They felt that, if Netanyahu managed to get another mandate with his far right allies including [extremist security minister] Ben-Gvir, this would only accelerate.”
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this → feel → Gvir
The Joint List – which represents a number of mainly leftist Israeli Arab-led parties – is led by Yousef Jabareen.
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which → represent → Jabareen
He has previously said the Joint List could not join an Eisenkot-led government because of its support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza and southern Lebanon, but has left open the possibility of bolstering a minority government through confidence votes.
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List → say → votes
The other main Palestinian party, Ra’am, is led by Mansour Abbas, and includes a Jewish former chief of police as number two on their slate, a signal of their commitment to working with Jewish Israelis but also their desire to tackle organised crime, which is a big issue for the Palestinian population.
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which → lead → population
…and 39 more, not listed.
The Aporia
