New Delhi: Israel parliamentary election result on Thursday (October 29) ended with opposition parties securing 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 53 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc. Netanyahu ended the day with a 20% vote share and a 4% lead over Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar.The seat tally leaves the opposition far ahead of the majority mark in the 120-member parliament, and poised for government formation should Eisenkot’s 48 and the Joint List’s 19 come together. In any case, the dice appears to have rolled away from Netanyahu in Israel. Even more possible shifts in alliances could drag his Likud down into the early forties.The prime minister took to blaming “Arabs” for the outcome on Wednesday, usually a sign in politics that acceptance of defeat is around the corner. Still the contest generated “no-clear-winner” reports through Wednesday in multiple Israeli and other media outlets, which continued on Thursday as well.If the opposition teams up with Arab parties, reported AP, calling it “a rare and politically risky move”, they could control the Knesset over its next four-year term.It seems more likely now that they will. Even US President Donald Trump has offered to “take a look” at the alliances, with helping Netanyahu on his mind.Early estimates suggested on Wednesday that the turnout of Palestinian citizens of Israel was around 80%, higher than in any recent election, wrote Baker Zoubi, a journalist and Palestinian citizen of Israel based in the Lower Galilee.“Ben Gvir and Smotrich wanted Arabs to be frightened, weakened and desperate enough to stay home. Yesterday, they discovered that fear and despair do not always lead to silence,” Zoubi wrote in a piece originally published on +972 Magazine.The idea that the election was somehow “stolen” by Arab parties, as Likud claims, was tossed out repeatedly. The police refused anything like it went on during the voting.“By casting doubt on the vote, Netanyahu appeared to be positioning himself to block any potential alliance between his opponents and the Arab parties. Netanyahu has suggested that it would be treasonous for Eisenkot to join with Arab parties,”wrote AP’s Cara Anna, Julia Frankel and Koral Saeed, reporting from Jerusalem on October 29.“Netanyahu’s party, Likud, has been spreading claims of malfeasance by Arab-led parties since exit polls indicated the prime minister had suffered a setback in Tuesday’s vote,” the report said, referring to the blame also falling on foreign interference, read Qatar, which has denied any role in the election.Likud’s “fraud” claims have also been dismissed by Israel’s Central Elections Committee – Arabs simply came out to vote. And they may offer the opposition a way into the Knesset, making history either way. There is a sharp irony there, as people came to the voting counters while the political rhetoric cast Arab citizens as a threat.The Joint List – the anti-Netanyahu side – had a surplus-vote agreement with Ra’am, which allows them to pool leftover votes when allocating seats. This gave it its 19th seat in the Knesset.“Netanyahu is working to steal the election,” Joint List asserted in turn.Of the two, Ra’am appears to be off limits for Eisenkot’s Yashar Party, but it could still support the opposition coalition without joining its government.Haaretz put the question of alliances in a clearer perspective: “Exclude Arab Parties or Oust Netanyahu”, said a line written in a red box next to a headline.Israeli media had, AP reports, projected 53 parliament seats for Netanyahu’s bloc – eight short of a majority. At the time, Eisenkot has 48 opposition seats that, with support from the Arab-led parties, would yield a combined total of 67 – six above the 61-seat majority threshold.This has turned out to be true. Will the opposition ally, and in what form, still remains a question as a new government is formed over the next few days or weeks.“Netanyahu’s opponents have won enough seats to outnumber his bloc, and a possible shift by United Torah Judaism (UTJ) could make it even harder for him to form a government,” wrote West Asia watcher Eli Kowaz on X.BREAKING: Final results are in. Netanyahu bloc 53. Anti-Netanyahu bloc 67. Soldier votes do not change the bloc breakdown.UTJ have said they are ready to support Eisenkot putting the Netanyahu bloc at 46.— Eli Kowaz – איליי קואז (@elikowaz) October 29, 2026“Eisenkot has indicated he is open, with conditions, to joining forces with the Arab-led parties. Ahmad Tibi, second on the Arab-led Joint List, told Army Radio the opposition bloc reached out to him to discuss replacing the Knesset speaker, and he told them the party would support the bloc’s candidate,” reports AP, continuing:“If a new government cannot be formed after multiple attempts, Israel would face a new election early next year. On Wednesday, [Israeli President Isaac] Herzog signaled he wanted to avoid that step – something Eisenkot has said as well.“New elections bring new questions, including whether Arab citizens would again go to the polls in large numbers and whether the tens of thousands of Israelis who flew home to vote would do it again. Many had said they took that step to save the country from Netanyahu.”