Trump Vetoes Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu Bloc Trails in Israeli Election Results

U.S. President Donald Trump is closely monitoring the Israeli election results through his associates, as a clear decision for either political bloc appears unlikely. Sources close to Trump indicate the president personally wants to ensure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not include Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of Otzma Yehudit, and possibly Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of Religious Zionism, in his future government. Trump reportedly believes a coalition with Ben-Gvir is out of the question. This close involvement from Washington follows Trump's claim that he was responsible for the Likud's recovery in the polls, a move seen as clarifying the price of support. An earlier framework between the parties reportedly planned decisive action against Iran in the first year of Trump's two-year term, followed by a potential withdrawal by Netanyahu and the advancement of the Abraham Accords in the second year. However, given clarifications from Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, that normalization is not possible under the current government's makeup, Trump may increase his intervention and pressure for a unity government with a rotation. This engagement follows two public appeals by Trump during the campaign, where he explicitly endorsed Netanyahu on Truth Social as a "great partner for peace in the fight against Iran," warning against electing another leader and urging voters to support him to finish the mission.

Domestically, the Central Elections Committee reported that with 66.3% of the votes counted (71.8% of polling stations), the political landscape remains deadlocked. The Netanyahu bloc holds 54 seats, the opposing bloc has 48, and Arab parties collectively have 18 seats. By party, Likud leads with 27 seats, "Yash" has 21, the Joint List 12, "Yahad" 11, Democrats 8, and Yisrael Beiteinu 8. United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit each have 7 seats, while the Religious Zionism-Identity and Ra'am parties hold 6 seats each. Compared to the previous update, Ra'am gained two seats at the expense of Likud and United Torah Judaism, which each lost one seat. Meanwhile, with 60.2% of votes tallied, the Reservists-Economic party led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha is nearly 20,000 votes short of the electoral threshold. The Am Israel party, headed by Ofer Vinter, is over 54,000 votes away, making its path to the Knesset appear definitively blocked.