Netanyahu, Eisenkot stake rival claims to lead Israel after deadlocked vote - CBC

Anxious Israelis watched election results near completion on Wednesday after the highest voter turnout in more than a quarter-century, but no clear winner has emerged.

Weeks of negotiating could lie ahead for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an array of opposition parties trying to unseat him.

Arab-led parties made a historic showing, but it's not clear if other opponents of Netanyahu's far-right government would form a coalition with them for a majority of seats in parliament. Issues around the Palestinians and their descendants remain sensitive in Israel.

Netanyahu seeks to remain the country's longest-serving prime minister. In defiant comments after the vote — which showed his Likud party losing ground since the 2022 election — he dismissed as treasonous the idea of partnering with Arab parties.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu warned against a "dangerous government" that might include them. He won't work with the Arab-led parties, whose constituents make up 20 per cent of Israel's population, and they have also ruled out any partnership with him.

An aide speaks to Likud Leader Benjamin Netanyahu as he gives a statement following exit polls for Israel's national election, at the party's election headquarters in Jerusalem early Wednesday. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

His top challenger, centrist former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, has left the door open to partnering with Arab parties under certain conditions, including their recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and of Hamas as an extremist group.

But it's not clear whether some of Eisenkot's likely partners who have ruled out such an alliance will change their minds to force Netanyahu from office.

Will Israeli voters turf Netanyahu?

Israeli voters choose parties, not individuals. With 85 per cent of votes counted, Netanyahu's Likud party has 20.8 per cent and Eisenkot's Yashar party has 16.1 per cent. The official count does not indicate how many seats each will have in parliament, the 120-seat Knesset.

Emerging results indicated that neither Netanyahu's nor Eisenkot's coalition blocs would reach the 61 seats needed for a majority. Local media projected 53 seats for Likud and allied parties, 48 for Yashar and allied parties and 19 for Arab-led parties.

Nearly 78 per cent of eligible voters turned out, the highest since 1999. Final results are expected by the end of the week, and will capture about a half-million absentee ballots yet to be counted from military personnel and diplomats.

Voting reflected unease over Netanyahu's alliance with the far right and anger in a war-weary nation over military draft exemptions for the significant ultra-orthodox Jewish population; the Likud party's share of the vote declined from 23.4 per cent in 2022.

But results suggest opponents were unable to capitalize on the grief caused by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack to decisively push Netanyahu from office.

Supporters of Gadi Eisenkot react after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. (Ariel Schalit/The Associated Press)

One far-right partner losing support was National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. For many Israelis, he represented the worst strain of Netanyahu's government, openly taunting Palestinian detainees and asserting that many in Gaza are "not even people."

Vote-counting suggested Likud would remain the largest party and best placed to be tapped to form a government by Israel's president, Isaac Herzog. The president, however, isn't required to task the leader of the party holding the most seats.

"We must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," Herzog said on Wednesday.

The most obvious path to a parliamentary majority could involve Eisenkot partnering with Arab-led parties — which have 14.9 per cent of the votes counted — but that's politically challenging. In a speech early Wednesday that focused on national unity, Eisenkot pledged to form a government and promised "a new era — an era of hope."

If no one can put together a majority coalition, new elections could be held early next year. Israel held five elections between April 2019 and November 2022 because of a similar stalemate. It is unclear whether thousands of Israelis living abroad would again fly back home to vote , and whether Arab voters would again surge to the polls.

Minority governments also are possible, but they must rely on co-operation from parties outside the government to pass legislation.

Confronted with Arab parties' strong election showing, Israelis have renewed a debate about identity.

"We have no future here if we do not stop being afraid," said Yair Golan, whose Democrats party supports bringing Arab-led parties into a coalition. "We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes."

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Netanyahu has had a nearly unbroken 17-year rule. Israelis were divided over him even before the deadliest attack in the country's history. The resulting wars, along with settler violence in the occupied West Bank, have stoked worldwide outrage, straining ties with Israel's closest allies and fuelling a rise in antisemitism.

Netanyahu's supporters believe he is protecting Israel's security and Jewish identity in the face of international pressure and liberal elites at home.

"I prefer that [Netanyahu] assembles the coalition," said Ran Cohen, a Jerusalem resident. "He's the only one who knows how to do the job properly, knows how to speak to the world."

Detractors say Netanyahu, facing an ongoing corruption trial, dragged out the war in Gaza and its hostage crisis for political reasons. They say he is undermining Israel's independent judiciary. And they accuse his government of allowing ultra-orthodox religious Jews to avoid military conscription.

Eisenkot is viewed by supporters as a capable leader with sterling security credentials. His son and two nephews were killed in Gaza, and his backers believe that he feels deeply the country's pain.

Parties that likely would partner with him have vowed to improve Israel's international standing and work to conscript ultra-orthodox men while bolstering the independence of the judiciary.