Israel faces a coalition stalemate after an election that weakened Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing bloc without giving his opponents a clear route to power. The central question is whether Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition can turn Palestinian-led parties’ gains into a governing majority.

Partial results put Netanyahu’s bloc ahead of Eisenkot’s, but both remained below the 61 seats needed in the 120-member Knesset. Arab-led parties were projected to win a record 19 seats, making them potential arbiters of who can govern.¹ That arithmetic has exposed a sharp divide between those advocating a broader partnership and those insisting a government must rest on a Jewish-Zionist majority.

Yair Golan, leader of the centre-left Democrats and a member of Eisenkot’s bloc, argued that the opposition should not distinguish between Jewish and Arab votes. He said there was an “opportunity to form a change government in partnership” with Arab parties.¹ Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen likewise said his party was prepared to help remove Netanyahu, although he did not commit to joining an Eisenkot-led cabinet outright.²

That leaves open the prospect of Palestinian lawmakers supporting a minority government from outside the coalition. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas, whose party joined a governing coalition in 2021, has said he could participate in an Eisenkot-led administration, while Jabareen has stressed demands concerning equality and protections for his community.²

Netanyahu has framed the alternative in opposing terms, calling for a “strong national-right government” and warning against reliance on anti-Zionist Arab parties.³ Eisenkot, meanwhile, campaigned against a formal coalition with Palestinian parties, even as his bloc lacks a majority without some form of their support.

The competing positions converge on one point: neither side has an easy path to a durable government. If the opposition rejects cooperation, Netanyahu may gain time as caretaker prime minister; if it accepts outside backing or a coalition deal, it would test whether a cross-community arrangement can survive Israel’s wider political divisions.²