Final Election Results Show Coalition Bloc Short of Majority

The final results of Israel's 26th Knesset elections were announced Thursday, with the Likud party securing 27 mandates and the "change bloc" falling short of a majority. The current coalition will hold 53 mandates, while the "change bloc" garnered 48. Other parties' results include Yisrael Beiteinu with 21 mandates, and United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit with seven each. The Joint List won 11 mandates, while Democrats and Ra'am each received eight. Shas, Religious Zionism, and Zehut secured six mandates apiece. Two parties, HaMeyumalim and HaKalkalit, failed to pass the electoral threshold with 2.72% of the vote, as did Am Israel with 1.68%. The threshold required approximately 182,500 votes. These results emerge amidst an ongoing investigation into foreign funding and election bribery allegations. The Shin Bet issued an unusual clarification regarding the reports, emphasizing that the information was gathered in accordance with its legal mandate. President Isaac Herzog commented on the upcoming process, noting that for the first time in decades, a majority of eligible voters cast ballots for parties outside the current coalition. In recent days, leaders of the "change bloc" have been engaged in negotiations. Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, and Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, met and agreed to continue their cooperation, stressing the importance of voting for one of the "serving bloc" parties: Yisrael Beiteinu, Yisrael Beiteinu, Achva, and Democrats. Eisenkot issued a statement asserting that he would not allow any deviation from the scheduled Knesset swearing-in. He also accused Likud and Netanyahu of orchestrating a campaign to delegitimize the election results. Meanwhile, a senior Knesset member from the "change bloc" indicated that the bloc is seriously considering compromises on the conscription issue to form a government, stating that the public did not vote against the Haredi community.