Netanyahu and Eisenkot Seek Mandate as Israel Faces Post-Election Coalition Negotiations

Israel held its 2026 general election during a time of intense political polarization. Prior to the election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly urged the Israeli military to conduct operations against Iran, a move that faced internal resistance and was not supported by the United States. Following the October 27 vote, regional tensions have remained high, with reports of Israeli strikes in Gaza killing eight people on November 1, 2026.

1. Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc secured 53 seats. Netanyahu's own party the Likud party holds 27 of these seats.

2. Gadi Eisenkot leads a 48-seat bloc. Supporters advocate for a coalition without Benjamin Netanyahu following protests in Tel Aviv on October 31 and November 1, 2026.

3. The Joint List holds 11 seats. The party offered to support an alternative government led by Zionist parties opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu.

4. Party leaders are preparing to petition President Isaac Herzog to decide who receives the first mandate to form a government. This step initiates the coalition-building process before the Knesset swearing-in ceremony on November 10, 2026.

5. Voters cast 5,716,665 ballots in the 2026 election. This represents a 77.9 percent turnout, the highest rate in decades.

6. Nearly 840,000 people voted for the Ra’am and Joint List coalition in the 2026 election. That figure marks a 64 percent increase from the 2022 election. The parties expanded their voter base between these two cycles.

7. Likud secured 27 seats in the 2026 election. Yashar followed with 21 seats. B’Yachad holds 12 seats, while the Joint List holds 11. Democrats and Ra’am each secured 8 seats. Yisrael Beytenu, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit each hold 7 seats. Shas and Religious Zionism each hold 6.

1. Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Palestinian-Israeli parties accepted funding from Qatar to influence the election. The Qatari government denied the allegation. Netanyahu accused these parties of "stealing" the polls.

2. Protesters gathered outside Gadi Eisenkot's residence in Herzliya on October 29, 2026. These activists urged him to form a government that includes Arab parties.

3. Three Arab-led parties hold 19 seats. This complicates coalition negotiations. The Joint List offered external support. Political divisions persist. No party has secured the 61-seat majority required to govern.

4. President Isaac Herzog will receive the official election results on November 4, 2026. Political deadlock will persist until that date. The final composition of the government remains uncertain.