Netanyahu Bloc Projected to Win 55 Seats in Partial Israeli Count, Short of Governing Majority

Key Facts

Partial figures from Israel’s election, with 48.43% of votes counted in an update published by Ynet on October 28, 2026, showed Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc heading for 55 seats in the Knesset. The figures put the opposition bloc seeking to replace him at 50 seats, while Arab parties were projected to win a combined 15. The Knesset has 120 seats, and a parliamentary majority requires 61, so neither of the two main blocs had reached the threshold needed to govern, according to that update. Ynet reported that Likud was heading for 27 seats, against 22 for the Yashar! party led by Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger and a former military chief of staff. These figures were based on a partial count, not a final election result.

The seat map at that point meant Netanyahu’s bloc was ahead of the opposition but had not secured the ability to form a government, as its projected seats remained below the required majority. The opposition’s total alone was also insufficient to reach a majority, leaving coalition calculations dependent on the positions of other parties once the results are complete. Ynet said some small parties were expected, according to initial exit polls, to fall short of the electoral threshold of 3.25% of votes required to enter the Knesset. Lists that remain below this threshold receive no seats, while votes yet to be counted could affect the distribution of seats among the lists. The parliamentary representation picture therefore remained subject to change as counting continued, and partial figures alone were not enough to determine the shape of the next coalition.

Turnout in the election reached 77.7% of eligible voters, the highest since 1999, according to the Associated Press. The participation level put the current vote at its highest since that year, in the comparison cited by the agency. Completion of the count includes more than 650,000 double-envelope ballots that were expected to be processed and counted separately. Election officials warned, according to Ynet, that the process could continue until Friday morning. This delays a complete picture of the results, as partial figures still show a gap between each bloc’s projected seats and the majority needed to form a government.

In an initial market reaction, Reuters reported that the Israeli shekel edged lower after inconclusive results showed no clear winner. The report did not give a specific amount for the decline, so the move is described only as the slight currency weakness reported by the agency after the results emerged. The TA-35 index had risen 1.99% to 4,206.35 points in the October 26 session, ahead of the election, according to EL7 data. That was performance before the vote and does not represent the index’s movement after the partial figures were announced. Over a longer period, Reuters said the Tel Aviv market had risen 130% since the October 7, 2023 attacks through October 26, 2026, compared with an 80% gain for Wall Street, while the shekel rose 25% over the same period.

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