Israel election: Netanyahu loses his majority, but rival bloc also falls short

Final results from Israel's October 27 parliamentary election show that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition has lost its Knesset majority. The bloc opposing him also fell short, so weeks of political wrangling are likely.

The results

According to Al Jazeera and AP, the 120-seat Knesset breaks down as follows:

• The pro-Netanyahu coalition won 53 seats: Likud 27, United Torah Judaism 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, Shas 6 and Religious Zionism 6.
• The bloc of Jewish parties opposing Netanyahu won 48 seats, 21 of them for former military chief Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party.
• Arab-led parties won 19 seats: the Joint List 11 and Ra'am 8.

None of the blocs reached the 61 seats needed to govern.

What happens next

The results must be certified and presented to President Isaac Herzog by November 4. The new Knesset is sworn in on November 10, and Herzog must ask a member to form a government by November 11. That candidate gets 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. The front-runners are Netanyahu and Eisenkot. Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth reports that Eisenkot may have the edge, because some Arab-led parties are considering endorsing him. Herzog has urged politicians to find "creative solutions" to avoid a repeat election, including a possible national unity government of the two rivals.

Opposition leaders have previously ruled out partnering with Arab-led parties, but Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas has said Eisenkot's conditions would not be an obstacle. If talks fail, Israel could head back to the polls.

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Some Mongolian users shared the claim that "Netanyahu won", but the final results do not support it.