Deadlock forces Netanyahu to stay as caretaker while Israel counts votes

The outcome of Israel's second election in three years appears to be a stalemate, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a temporary role while parties negotiate.

The political deadlock stems from the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which triggered a series of conflicts that dominated the campaign.

Netanyahu entered politics after serving in the war cabinet, but he quit eight months later to criticize the premier's leadership.

Both men have now entered the race to lead the country, with Eisenkot emerging as the strongest challenger to the incumbent.

The Central Elections Committee is currently counting ballots, with definitive results expected by Thursday.

As of Wednesday, about 48.4 percent of votes were tallied, showing a narrow gap between the two main blocs.

Netanyahu's right-wing coalition is projected to win 55 seats, while Eisenkot's bloc is projected to win 50.

Arab parties are expected to take 15 seats, leaving both main camps short of the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

This projection marks a shift from the previous parliament, where Netanyahu's coalition held 68 seats.

The stalemate allows Netanyahu to remain as caretaker prime minister during potentially lengthy coalition talks or until a new election is called.

Forming a government is complicated by the refusal of both main camps to include Arab parties in the coalition.

Netanyahu's bloc has ruled out a government with Arab parties, who campaigned to remove him and his far-right allies from power. Eisenkot has also largely ruled out including them, despite their potential to bridge the seat gap. The far-right religious parties led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are projected to take a combined 13 seats within Netanyahu's bloc, with no major gains for either leader. Netanyahu spoke to supporters at Likud headquarters in Jerusalem after 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday, urging the creation of a strong, right-wing national government. He highlighted Israel's military successes and raised the possibility of renewed joint action with U.S. President Donald Trump against Iran. Netanyahu stated, Israel faces a singular historical opportunity, together with our partner President Trump, to remove the existential threat of Iran once and for all. Trump, who endorsed Netanyahu, commented on the race from Texas, describing it as pretty close and suggesting his endorsement helped. The U.S. president said Netanyahu might be winning or tie, calling a tie sort of considered a win in that case because it's a big chess man match. Eisenkot told supporters that the public had voted against Netanyahu remaining in office and urged him to retire from politics. He described the prime minister as a caretaker, without a mandate or the people's trust. Eisenkot also called on the security establishment to stand firm against any effort to put political interests ahead of Israel's security. Turnout reached 77.7 percent, the highest in more than two decades and about seven percentage points above 2022. Because Israel's fragmented system gives smaller parties potential kingmaker roles, past coalition talks have lasted weeks or months. If neither side can form a government, another election may be needed, an outcome Eisenkot opposed given the strong turnout. Eisenkot, 66, lost a son and two nephews in the Gaza war and entered politics only four years ago. He presents himself as a centrist at home but keeps a hawkish security stance, opposing Palestinian statehood and arguing that Hamas' military wing must be destroyed or dismantled. He contends that Israel's response, a war that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians according to Gaza health authorities, failed because Hamas remains in charge. Voters weighed the trauma of October 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 people according to Israeli government tallies and took 251 hostage, as well as the subsequent wars with Hezbollah and Iran. Netanyahu has faced criticism for the country's biggest security failure, but he argues he made Israel and the world safer by killing top leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.