# Israel faces deadlock as Netanyahu and Eisenkot vie for power > With neither bloc projected to win a majority, coalition talks could take weeks to determine Israel's next government. - Title: Israel faces deadlock as Netanyahu and Eisenkot vie for power - Summary: With neither bloc projected to win a majority, coalition talks could take weeks to determine Israel's next government. - Keywords: benjamin netanyahu, gadi eisenkot, israel election, knesset, coalition government, likud party, yashar party, isaac herzog, donald trump, gaza war, military conscription, judicial reform - Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/27/israel-netanyahu-eisenkot-knesset-election-explainer - Author: Chad de Guzman - Published: 2026-10-27T09:05:00+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: benjamin netanyahu, gadi eisenkot, israel election, knesset, coalition government, likud party, yashar party, isaac herzog, donald trump, gaza war, military conscription, judicial reform ## Neither bloc wins majority Israel's three leading broadcasters project Netanyahu's right-wing bloc will win fifty-three Knesset seats and Eisenkot's opposition bloc forty-eight. Both fall short of the sixty-one seats needed for a majority. ## Vote count still incomplete As of Wednesday evening, authorities had counted more than eighty-eight percent of ballots cast at polling stations.Between four hundred thirty thousand and four hundred eighty thousand votes from military bases and special sites remain uncounted. ## Results expected by November fourth The final vote tally is expected by October thirtieth, with official results published on November fourth. The process of forming a government could take weeks or months. ## Herzog begins consultations President Isaac Herzog will hold consultations with all political factions to determine the formation of the next government. Herzog said on Wednesday: arrive with an open mind. > arrive with an open mind ## Netanyahu calls for strong right-wing government In a defiant speech after polls closed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a strong, right-wing government. He stated his intention to form the next coalition. > strong, right-wing ## Eisenkot pledges change and mobilization In a social media update Wednesday, Gadi Eisenkot said long workdays await but the opposition is focused on bringing change to Israel and establishing a Zionist mobilization government. > bringing change to Israel and establishing a Zionist mobilization government ## Trump credits his endorsement U.S. President Donald Trump, who endorsed Netanyahu days before the election, claimed credit for the Israeli leader's performance. Trump said the endorsement helped Netanyahu and called the result a tie or win. ## Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance declined to endorse Netanyahu for re-election, a day after Trump gave his complete and total support. Vance said he endorses American candidates and focuses on the midterms. ## Highest turnout since nineteen ninety-nine Seventy-seven point seven percent of eligible voters cast ballots by ten pm local time on Tuesday, the highest turnout logged since nineteen ninety-nine. About seven point three million Israeli citizens were eligible to vote. ## Netanyahu's coalition includes far-right parties Netanyahu's Likud party leads a pro-Netanyahu coalition including far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. Otzma Yehudit is led by national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Religious Zionism-Zehut by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. ## Opposition includes multiple parties Eisenkot's centrist Yashar party leads the opposition alongside a joint ticket with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Knesset opposition leader Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman, and the Democrats led by Yair… ## Eisenkot's personal losses shape campaign Eisenkot, who entered politics in twenty twenty-two, lost a son in combat in Israel's wars. Two of his nephews also died fighting in Gaza, a prominent campaign talking point. ## Election follows October seventh attacks This is the first election since the October seventh, twenty twenty-three terrorist attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas and the subsequent Israeli war in Gaza.The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership. ## Netanyahu faces arrest warrant and trial Netanyahu faces an international arrest warrant for alleged crimes related to the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.He is in the middle of a yearslong corruption trial, which he and his allies claim is politically motivated. ## Coalition formation could take weeks No single party has ever claimed sixty-one seats to form a government, meaning Israel has always been governed by coalitions. President Herzog will ask the strongest candidate to form a government within forty-two days. ## New elections possible if talks fail If a coalition cannot be formed after multiple attempts, the current Likud-led coalition government will continue as caretaker before another round of elections is held in the coming months. ## Key takeaway Israel's election leaves neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor rival Gadi Eisenkot with a parliamentary majority, forcing weeks of coalition negotiations to form the next government.