Israel

Best of Opinion: From closing window to overshoot, climate action retreats

Today's columns examine climate overshoot and AI's environmental costs, Netanyahu's electoral position in Israel, US midterm implications for oil prices and China's property crisis

What to know as Israel polls leave Netanyahu, opposition without majority

Final election results have been released in Israel, leaving uncertainty since neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the main opposition's has a won a majority in parliament. Weeks of negotiations to build a majority coalition and name a prime minister likely lie ahead, with another election possible if they fail. One scenario would be Jewish and Arab-led parties opposed to Netanyahu joining forces, a rare and politically controversial move. Another would be some parties that campaigned on ousting Israel's longest-serving prime minister teaming up with him instead. Both possibilities have prompted bitter debate in an already deeply divided country. Here's what to know about what comes next: Final results bring weeks of negotiations -------------------------------------------- The final vote count released by the Central Elections Committee showed Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, well below the 68 seats it had controlled at its peak in the ..

Netanyahu's bloc wins 53 seats in Israel polls but falls short of majority

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, have both fallen short of securing a parliamentary majority, Israel's final election results show, leaving a path to forming a government unclear. Results released early Friday showed the pro-Netanyahu bloc winning 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and 48 seats for Eisenkot's bloc. Two Arab-led parties won the remaining 19 seats.

Israel seeks election probe after Netanyahu alleges Arab vote rigging

Israel's election watchdog has sought a probe into alleged foreign interference after Netanyahu questioned high Arab voter turnout, as his bloc fell short of a parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu alleges election fraud, rules out cooperation with Arab parties

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday intensified allegations of election fraud by Arab-led parties, describing suspected foreign interference as an "earthquake" and demanding an immediate investigation by the police and the country's top internal security agency. In a social media post, Netanyahu cited Central Elections Committee (CEC) chief Justice Noam Sohlberg's decision to ask Shin Bet chief David Zini to investigate suspicions of foreign funding and improper influence in Tuesday's election. "The Ra'amgate affair is an earthquake. They stole the elections in Israel!" Netanyahu wrote, targeting the Arab-led Ra'am (the United Arab List) and the Joint List alliance. He alleged that foreign entities had interfered in Tuesday's parliamentary elections and bribed voters in favour of Arab-led parties. The allegations come amid an inconclusive election in which neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition camp led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has secured a ...

Trump takes credit for Netanyahu's poll performance in Israel election

Trump said he would consider helping form a unity government in Israel, as partial results showed Netanyahu's bloc ahead

Israel election 2026: Arab parties could emerge as kingmakers amid deadlock

With nearly 90 per cent of votes counted, neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot appears to have the numbers to form a government, while Arab parties could emerge as kingmakers

Israel election: Netanyahu bloc leads with 53 seats as 90% of votes counted

Partial results showed the opposing bloc with 48 seats, while three factions remained below the 3.25% electoral threshold; counting of soldiers' ballots and other double-envelope votes remains

Israel election: People protest across cities calling for Jewish-Arab govt

Demonstrations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa called for inclusive governance, while partial results showed the pro-Netanyahu bloc leading with 53 seats against 48 for the opposing bloc

Israel exit polls show tight contest between Netanyahu and Eisenkot

Netanyahu's religious right-wing alliance and Eisenkot's more centrist bloc are both on track to secure 51 of Israel's 120 parliamentary seats, according to two exit polls

Netanyahu bloc falls short of majority as partial count points to deadlock

Israel's parliamentary election may not produce any clear winner, with exit polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud emerging as the largest party, but the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot projected to win more seats than the ruling coalition in estimates by three major broadcasters. The projections for Tuesday's parliamentary election from Channel 13, Channel 12 and public broadcaster Kan put Netanyahu's bloc at 50 seats in the 120-member Knesset, short of the 61 needed for a majority. The opposition bloc is projected to win 52-53 seats, while Arab-led parties are expected to secure 17-18 seats. According to the Central Elections Committee, 77.7 per cent of voters cast their ballots, an increase of 7.1 per cent from-2022, and the highest since 1999. A separate exit poll by i24NEWS gave a more favourable projection to Netanyahu's camp, putting his bloc at 55 seats against 49 for Eisenkot's bloc, with Arab-led parties projected to win 16 ...

Who is Gadi Eisenkot, the ex-army chief challenging Netanyahu in Israel?

After four decades in uniform, Gadi Eisenkot is seeking to translate his military credentials into political power, challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after an election that has left Israel's rival political blocs short of a clear parliamentary majority. The 66-year-old leader of the Yashar party has emerged as a central figure in the effort to replace Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister. Exit polls released after Tuesday's election projected neither camp securing the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Depending on the broadcaster, Netanyahu's right-wing bloc was projected to win 50-52 seats, while the opposition bloc was estimated to have 49-53. Arab-led parties were projected to win around 17-18 seats. The figures were projections, not final results, with the official count still under way. Turnout reached 77.7 per cent, the highest since 1999, according to election authorities. Eisenkot described the exit polls as evidence of a

Israel election 2026: Netanyahu faces tight race as turnout surges

Record voter turnout and anger over security failures put Netanyahu's long-standing grip on power to the test

Datanomics: India maintains steady trade surplus with Israel since 2010

As Israel votes on October 27, India's exports to the country have risen tenfold since 1996, with trade largely in India's favour, even as tourism flows show contrasting trends

Israel election tests Netanyahu as war, ethnic tensions shape campaign

As Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday, the first since the tumultuous events of October 7, 2023, it is being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. Issues such as security, judicial overhaul, the secular-religious divide over national burden sharing, ethnicity, and the economy are at the forefront but talks of a two-state solution to the vexed Israel-Palestinian conflict have been pushed out of public discussions. Opinion polls indicate that Netanyahu's Likud party and the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot are competing in a close race, with neither side assured of the parliamentary majority needed to form a government. Netanyahu is seeking to retain power after three years of war and mounting demands for accountability over the October 7, 2023, attack. Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces, has emerged as a principal challenger, while former prime minister Naftali Bennett is leading a separate oppositio

Israel heads to poll as Netanyahu's future, coalition math remain uncertain

Israel will hold parliamentary elections on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to retain power amid debate over the government's handling of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the subsequent wars and its domestic and foreign policies. The election is widely seen as a test of Netanyahu's leadership, as opposition leaders, including former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and former prime minister Naftali Bennett, seek to challenge his right-wing coalition. Opinion polls indicate neither bloc is assured of the parliamentary majority needed to form a government. Israel, roughly the size of north-eastern India's Mizoram state, uses a nationwide proportional representation system, with the entire country serving as a single electoral constituency to elect the 120 members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Voters do not elect individual members of parliament. Instead, they vote for closed party lists. This system allows numerous political parties to compete for seats i

Israel election 2026: Netanyahu's rivals, key parties and what's at stake

Final opinion polls point to a possible deadlock, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition nor the Opposition projected to secure a majority

Israel election masks economic fault lines as war spending surges

Soaring defence spending, rising debt, talent outflows and ultra-Orthodox exemptions pose long-term economic challenges despite strong headline growth

Israelis abroad expected to fly home to vote in high-stakes election

For two decades since leaving Israel for Canada, Yael Natra said, she didn't consider returning to vote in her home country's elections. She felt it wasn't right to cast a ballot in a place she no longer lived. But now, after seeing the far right gain power, Natra, 61, said she believed she had no choice. Ahead of Israel's election on Tuesday - the first since the 2023 Hamas-led attacks and ensuing wars in the region - Natra spent thousands of dollars to travel nearly 6,000 miles from Toronto to Tel Aviv to be in the country and vote, she said. Israeli law generally requires citizens to vote in person in the country, with narrow exceptions for diplomats and certain official emissaries abroad. Natra said she plans to cast her ballot for parties not aligned with the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The Israel that I grew up in is disappearing," she said in an interview from Toronto, citing an eroding democracy and deeply divided society. "If something won

Israelis hold final rally against Netanyahu ahead of consequential election

Israelis held a final large rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of what has been described as the most consequential election in the country's history. Meanwhile, the death toll rose from Friday's attack on a church in Jordan. And an Iranian military commander said his country will not allow US warships to enter the Persian Gulf as concerns grow of a return to all-out war. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Read our full coverage here. Thousands rally in Tel Aviv days ahead of Israel's election ---------------------------------------------------------------- A large crowd gathered in a final protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government ahead of Tuesday's close election. The crowd heard calls for a commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. Netanyahu has refused such an inquiry. Netanyahu's chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, attended the