Jerusalem, Oct. 30 -- Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid on Friday declared that the anti-Netanyahu camp had won the general election, despite failing to secure an outright majority, and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no viable path to form the next government.
In a post on X, Lapid described the outcome as a victory on points rather than a decisive win, arguing that Netanyahu's right-wing bloc had suffered a major setback. "So we won. It wasn't a knockout; it was a win on points. But points count too. A win is a win," he said. His remarks came after the final election results showed Netanyahu's bloc securing 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the main opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats. Arab-led parties secured the remaining 19 seats.
Lapid argued that Netanyahu's effective support was even narrower, pointing out that 13 seats within his bloc belonged to ultra-Orthodox parties that he described as non-Zionist. He said this left Netanyahu with only 40 seats from parties that could be counted on for a governing arrangement. The opposition leader maintained that Netanyahu had no realistic route to the 61 seats required to form a government. Likud, however, emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats. The election has left Israel facing complex coalition negotiations, with neither of the main political blocs having secured the numbers needed to govern independently.
Lapid acknowledged that forming a government would be difficult and that success was not guaranteed. He said Eisenkot's bloc would make every effort to assemble a coalition, adding that the process would require careful negotiations away from public attention. "Forming a government is the exact opposite" of an election campaign, he said, describing it as a process that takes place slowly and behind closed doors. He urged supporters not to interpret the absence of public announcements as a sign that negotiations were not progressing. The opposition faces a significant challenge in securing support from Arab-led parties, which together hold 19 seats. Several Jewish-led opposition parties have ruled out joining a coalition with them, complicating the possibility of assembling a 61-seat majority. The final results have also left open the possibility of a prolonged political deadlock or another election if negotiations fail. Netanyahu remains in office while the parties explore possible government arrangements.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.