Israel Election

Our rating above asks whether the result is accepted. This panel looks at the question most readers are asking now. It lays out the evidence as of Nov. 7; it is not a rating.

Still in office, but his rival has the first chance to replace him. On Nov. 7 President Isaac Herzog gave Gadi Eisenkot, not Netanyahu, the first chance to form a government; Eisenkot has 28 days (Axios). Netanyahu stays prime minister, as caretaker, until a new government is sworn in or through any repeat election (CBS News).

Pointing toward his exit

• In Herzog’s consultations, 67 of 120 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot and 46 recommended Netanyahu (Axios).
• His bloc won 53 seats, eight short of the 61 needed to govern. Eisenkot’s four-party bloc won 48, and Arab-majority parties a record 19 (CBS News).
• United Torah Judaism declined to recommend Netanyahu. After Avigdor Liberman dropped his demand that ultra-Orthodox men be drafted, a UTJ lawmaker welcomed the “flexibility.” UTJ and Shas together hold 13 seats, enough to give Eisenkot a majority (France 24).
• Eisenkot says he has made “significant progress” (France 24). He says Netanyahu “cannot serve as prime minister, minister or deputy minister,” and Yair Golan says “there will be no unity government with Netanyahu” (Ynet).

Pointing toward his staying

• Without the Arab-majority parties, Eisenkot’s bloc has 48 seats. Reuters reports his bloc has refused to join forces with them (Reuters); Liberman said Nov. 6 he still won’t work with them (France 24). CBS News reports Eisenkot will partner with them on conditions, including calling Hamas a terrorist group that must be destroyed (CBS News).
• On Nov. 7 Netanyahu called for a “national unity government” and warned against “hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters,” an apparent reference to the Arab-led parties (CBS News).
• Herzog has vowed to do “everything I can” to prevent a repeat election (Ynet).
• If no one reaches 61, Israel votes again, with Netanyahu as caretaker in the meantime.

Dates and paths to watch

• Nov. 10: the new Knesset is sworn in. Opposition leaders reportedly plan to replace Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) first (Jerusalem Post). Once it is seated, Eisenkot’s bloc and the Arab parties together hold a majority and could pass laws (CBS News).
• Eisenkot’s 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension (Jerusalem Post).
• On the table: an Eisenkot government with outside Haredi or Arab support, a minority government, a unity government with Netanyahu, or a new election (Jerusalem Post).

Share-card photo: Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon, Feb. 5, 2025. U.S. Department of Defense (public domain).

New reporting from major outlets and official sources, listed as it appears. Our monitoring adds headlines from major outlets automatically. "Checked" means our software fetched the full report and confirmed it supports its headline. "Reviewed" means an editor checked it against its source. "Auto" items have not been checked yet. Tap a label for our note. None of this is an endorsement. Our assessment is the rating above.

• 8 Nov, 11:24 AM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-08)
  Israelis and Palestinians react as Eisenkot given mandate to form government – video (The Guardian)
• 8 Nov, 10:43 AM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-08)
  Israel’s president officially gives opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form the next government (ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos)
• 8 Nov, 6:58 AM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-08)
  Netanyahu rival given first chance at forming new government (The Washington Post)
• 8 Nov, 4:54 AM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-08)
  Netanyahu's rival asked to form government after deadlocked election (The Independent)
• 8 Nov, 3:51 AM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-08)
  Netanyahu rival Eisenkot to be tasked with forming Israeli government (Euronews.com)
• 7 Nov, 6:49 PM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-07)
  Eisenkot chosen over Netanyahu to form Israel’s next government (Al Jazeera)
• 7 Nov, 6:13 PM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-07)
  Ex-military chief Gadi Eisenkot, opponent of Netanyahu, tapped to form government (The Washington Post)
• 7 Nov, 5:46 PM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-07)
  Netanyahu challenger Eisenkot to be tasked with forming new government (ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos)
• 7 Nov, 5:12 PM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-07)
  Israeli president invites Netanyahu's opposition leader to broker new government (NPR)
• 7 Nov, 4:51 PM
  reviewed ▾

  An editor checked this report against its source. (2026-11-07)
  Israel president asks opposition leader Eisenkot to form government (BBC)

All 198 sources →

The rating moves on official acts and on-the-record statements: Central Elections Committee results, court filings, the president’s decisions, party leaders’ own words. Exit polls and anonymous briefings don’t move it on their own.

• partly seenWould move up: Netanyahu or a Likud minister, on the record, refuses to accept the certified count or calls it fraudulent.
• partly seenWould move up: a formal petition to the Central Elections Committee or the High Court to void Arab-sector ballots or disqualify an Arab party’s seats.
• not seenWould move up: the caretaker government uses emergency powers, or restarts the war with Iran, in a way that delays the mandate or the new Knesset’s swearing-in.
• not seenWould move up: mass protests or violence tied to the result.
• not seenWould move up: a foreign government (including the United States) rejects or conditions the result, or Israeli authorities attribute an influence operation targeting the count.
• not seenWould move down: official final results go unchallenged, the losing side concedes, or a coalition is signed within the normal window.

• Likud filed fraud claims against Arab polling stations. On October 28 Likud, in a statement Netanyahu posted on X, said the election was “stolen” by “Arab parties that support terror” through bribery, threats, violence, forgery and “the use of illegal software to mobilize voters,” and said it had given police, the Shin Bet and the Central Elections Committee “hundreds of testimonies” (Netanyahu on X; translation: Times of Israel). The committee said it received the request and is reviewing it under the integrity process it runs in every election, which it opened to all lists on October 25 (Times of Israel). Police said neither investigative findings nor intelligence support the allegations; they had received 48 fraud and impersonation complaints, about 40% fewer than in the previous election (i24NEWS). On Oct. 29 it emerged that the committee’s chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, had asked the Shin Bet in a letter dated Oct. 28 to investigate “serious suspicions” of improper influence through “funding provided by foreign entities acting against Israeli interests,” writing that he “cannot attest to the substance of these suspicions.” He asked for findings within a week. On Nov. 1 Sohlberg, flanked by the Shin Bet chief and the attorney general, said in a video that the elections “were conducted properly” and that “even if the suspicions are ultimately confirmed, this would not call into question the integrity of the electoral process or the overall results.” Likud answered that “until the investigation is concluded, a dark cloud hangs over the election results” (France 24). The suspicions do not appear to concern irregularities in the voting or the count (Times of Israel). The Shin Bet said its investigation “does not cast aspersions or accuse an entire sector that went out to vote in a democratic and lawful manner,” and Qatar denied any role (WSJ). The committee’s acting general manager, Dean Livneh, wrote to the Knesset that “to the best of our knowledge, there is no basis for claims of systematic violation of the purity of the elections” (Washington Post).
• Count complete, no majority. On Oct. 29 the Central Elections Committee said the count was complete: with 99% of votes entered, Netanyahu’s bloc holds 53 seats and the opposition parties 67, including a record 19 for Arab parties, up from 10 in the outgoing Knesset (Haaretz, Al Jazeera). Likud leads with 27 seats to Yashar’s 21 (Haaretz). A government needs 61 of 120 (FT). The committee says it will publish the official results on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after an additional review of election integrity (Haaretz). President Isaac Herzog, who decides which candidate gets the first chance to form a government, said “we must do everything we can… to avoid another round of elections” (AFP).
• Highest turnout since 1999. 77.7% (5,695,682 voters) had voted by the 10 p.m. close, the highest at that hour since 1999, per the Central Elections Committee (BBC). At 8 p.m. it was 74.3%, eight points above the same hour in 2022 (Ynetnews).
• Arab parties surge. Ra’am and the Joint List are projected at 18–19 seats combined, up from 10. Both blocs’ leaders have ruled out Arab parties in a government, which leaves neither side an obvious path to 61 (Jerusalem Post).
• The fraud narrative came before the count. On election day Netanyahu and other Likud figures said, without evidence, that the election was being stolen (Times of Israel). Haaretz and Channel 12, citing Likud sources, reported discussions of a “the elections were stolen and rigged” campaign if he loses, aimed at Arab-sector polling stations. The committee’s director general, Dean Livne, said there is no evidence of widespread fraud and the safeguards are sufficient (Times of Israel). On Wednesday, with most votes counted, Likud accused Arab parties of “stealing” the election, again without providing evidence (FT).
• Netanyahu framed his majority as Jewish. He said the right has “a clear, decisive majority among the Zionist public” and that it is unthinkable “to set up a government that relies upon anti-Zionist Arab parties,” adding that “we are still waiting for the true results” (Times of Israel). Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hailed a “clear Jewish majority” (Haaretz).
• A Likud minister warned against an Arab-backed government. Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said any leader who tries to form a coalition with the help of Palestinian-Israeli parties will “end their political careers” (Al Jazeera). Eisenkot declared victory in a statement, saying the preliminary results should give him the first chance to form a government (Jerusalem Post).
• Police arrested Ra’am activists at their homes hours before polls opened. Ra’am called the arrests baseless and an effort to suppress Arab turnout through National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s control of the police (Jerusalem Post).
• Trump endorsed Netanyahu twice, on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25: “Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!” Netanyahu suggested the two could restart the war on Iran if he wins (Reuters). On October 28 Trump told Axios, “I heard my endorsement made a big difference for Bibi,” and said he had not thought about trying to broker a unity government (Axios). The Financial Times reports, citing people briefed on the matter, that before the vote Netanyahu told the military to prepare a multi-day bombing campaign against Iran for the weekend of Oct. 10; it did not go ahead because Trump did not approve it. Israeli security experts told the FT nothing would stop him, as caretaker prime minister, from reviving the plan after the U.S. midterms. Eisenkot said on election night that Netanyahu had no “mandate or the people’s trust” to start any military adventure (FT).
• Foreign interference warnings. Shin Bet chief David Zini warned of interference by Russia, China and Iran (Jerusalem Post). FakeReporter, an Israeli group that tracks fake accounts, says Iranian networks are behind most of the influence campaigns it has seen in Israel, some from Russia (Al-Monitor).

The most-shared claims, and what public sources can confirm.

• Key dates. The Central Elections Committee completed the count on Oct. 29 and will publish official results on Wednesday, Nov. 4, the legal deadline, after an additional integrity review (Haaretz, Ynetnews). President Isaac Herzog begins consulting party leaders next week, once official results are out (Al Jazeera), and then names a nominee, who gets 28 days to form a government, extendable by 14 (Times of Israel). If that fails, a second nominee gets 28 days with no extension, and early elections follow if no one succeeds (Israel Democracy Institute). President Herzog begins consulting the parties next week; if no one can form a majority, a new election could come as early as April (Axios). We plan to close this tracker once the results are certified and the president has named a nominee, if no party has formally challenged the count.
• The roughly 650,000 special ballots, counted last and worth about 14 seats (DW), and which parties clear the 3.25% threshold.
• Whether Netanyahu or Likud ministers, on the record, accept or dispute the official results.
• Nov. 10. The new Knesset must hold its first session. The opposition is expected to move to replace Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud), who has suggested he may not abide by Supreme Court rulings; in 2020 a Likud speaker initially refused to vacate the post. Opposition officials and civil-society activists say they worry Netanyahu and his supporters could refuse to recognise the results if he cannot form a government (FT).
• Any petitions to the Central Elections Committee or the High Court over Arab-sector ballots.
• President Isaac Herzog’s consultations and who gets the first mandate to form a government.
• Statements from Washington, and any resumption of the Iran war while a caretaker government is in power. AP reports, citing two regional officials and a person familiar with the matter, that Netanyahu is pressing Trump for new strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterms; Trump has not committed, and Qatari-mediated talks continue. AP notes a return to full-scale war could help Netanyahu form an emergency government (AP).

• Oct. 18Trump endorses Netanyahu (Reuters).
• Oct. 25Trump endorses him again: “we have to finish the job that we started!” (Reuters).
• Oct. 27Morning: Haaretz and Channel 12 report Likud discussed a “stolen” campaign if Netanyahu loses (Times of Israel). Police arrest Ra’am activists before polls open (Jerusalem Post).
• Oct. 27Afternoon: Eisenkot’s Yashar party accuses Netanyahu of laying the groundwork to challenge the results (Times of Israel).
• Oct. 2710 p.m.: polls close on the highest turnout since 1999; exit polls show no bloc at 61 (NBC News).
• Oct. 27Night: Eisenkot declares victory (Jerusalem Post); Likud minister Miki Zohar says a leader who relies on Palestinian-Israeli parties will “end their political careers” (Al Jazeera). Updated exit polls swing toward Netanyahu; he claims a majority “among the Zionist public” (Times of Israel).
• Oct. 28Morning: with 57.3% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc leads 55 seats to 49, short of 61 (DW).
• Oct. 28Afternoon: Likud says the election was “stolen” by Arab parties and submits complaints to police, the Shin Bet and the election committee, which says it is reviewing them; police say no evidence supports the claims (Times of Israel, i24NEWS).
• Oct. 289 p.m.: with nearly 90% counted, the committee count still has no bloc at 61 (53–48, Arab parties 19); more than 500,000 special ballots remain (Al Jazeera).
• Oct. 29The Central Elections Committee says the count is complete: Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats, the opposition 67 (including Arab parties at 19); official results due Nov. 4 after an integrity review (Haaretz).
• Nov. 3All party leaders in Eisenkot’s bloc (48 seats) have endorsed him for prime minister. Netanyahu, whose camp holds 53, says voters chose him and calls for a “broad national government” without the Arab-majority lists (19 seats), which have hinted they may back Eisenkot. Herzog begins consultations Wednesday and has until Nov. 11 to pick a candidate (France 24).
• Nov. 3Trump says the U.S. will stop its roughly $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of the year, under an agreement he says he and Netanyahu reached months ago. The 10-year aid deal runs through 2028, and Congress may need to weigh in (Politico).

• NBC News live blog, Oct. 27
• Times of Israel: Likud said already preparing to allege election was ‘stolen’
• Jerusalem Post: Arab parties projected at 17–19 seats
• Ynetnews: what happens after polls close
• Reuters: Netanyahu touts Trump endorsement