The media are already publishing photos of the next 120 members of the Knesset, but the list is being updated pending the counting of approximately 480,000 ballot envelopes containing the votes of soldiers, diplomats stationed abroad, hospitalized patients, and prisoners. The remaining 86 percent of the votes have been counted: 53 seats go to Netanyahu's bloc, 48 to Gadi Eisenkot's Change Bloc, and 19 to the Arab parties. As things stand, the prime minister's Likud remains the largest party with 26 seats, former IDF chief Yashar gains 21, the three Arab parties allied in the Joint List gain 12 seats, and Ra'am gains 7. In effect, there has been no real winner in these elections so far. Eisenkot's Bloc failed to overthrow Bibi, but Netanyahu also failed to win. Now it's up to President Isaac Herzog to take charge. Commentators point out that there's also a second president in the mix, Donald Trump. After his sensational endorsement message for the current "warrior-prime minister," he sent a behind-the-scenes one: he detests Itamar Ben Gvir and doesn't even like Bezalel Smotrich.
Briefly interviewed by Axios on Wednesday about the possibility of his involvement in the formation of a Netanyahu-led unity government, Trump replied that he hadn't thought about it yet: "I'll take a look," he added. Herzog, for his part, clarified: "One thing must be clear: we must do everything possible to avoid another round of elections. I expect anyone who comes here to come with an open mind." Meanwhile, Israeli public television has revealed that the president is expected to meet separately in the coming days, even before the consultations, with Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot to begin testing the feasibility of a unity government. Benjamin Netanyahu, who reached Likud headquarters in Jerusalem overnight and in his first statement said that a "broad right-wing national government must now be formed, avoiding the support of Arab parties," reiterated the point on Wednesday, accusing a member of the Arab Joint List of making a video in which he praised the Palestinian people and the terrorists currently in prison. "It is with these individuals that [the opposition] intends to form a dangerous government. We will not allow this to happen," he said.
The Likud then denounced that "the elections were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses: bribery, threats, violence, forgery, and the use of prohibited software to solicit voters." It announced that it was providing the police and the Shin Bet with hundreds of testimonies and evidence of electoral fraud in numerous Arab polling stations. Joint List Chairman Yousef Jabareen was harsh in his words: "Anyone who wants to offer a substantial and authentic alternative to Netanyahu's bloodthirsty government will have to talk to us to pave the way for the change the Israeli people so desperately desire." The complexity of the situation, however, lies not only in the internal conflict. On Tuesday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US had told the Gulf states to prepare for a "short and intense" military campaign after the November 3 midterm elections.
During the night, from the Likud headquarters, Netanyahu reiterated the theme: "We have before us a historic opportunity to end, with our friend Trump, the Iranian threat." In Israel, a new conflict with Tehran is not a question of "if," but of choosing the date. Legally, an interim government can go to war. A conflict during this delicate period could lead to the formation of a national unity or emergency government, as happened in October 2023. On that occasion, Gadi Eisenkot joined Bibi's cabinet, alongside Benny Gantz, and participated as an observer in the war cabinet. Netanyahu's critics, Israeli media report, fear that this type of government could be a potential target of a military campaign.
(Unioneonline)
