Netanyahu Bloc Projected at 56 Seats as Smotrich Vows Gaza Settlements

With roughly 55 percent of ballots counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance is projected to secure 56 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. This tally falls five seats short of the 61 required to form a governing majority. The result leaves the election open, with Arab-led parties positioned to determine which side forms the next government.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed supporters at his party headquarters in Jerusalem early Wednesday. He stated that Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza, a territory from which Israel dismantled its settlements in 2005. Smotrich argued that the opposition would not reverse the government's settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Smotrich previously posted on Facebook that turnout was unusually high in Arab communities and left-wing areas. He offered no specific figures to support the claim. He warned that a lack of mobilization among right-wing voters could allow what he called terror supporters to enter the government.

Netanyahu made similar appeals while polls were open. He claimed Arab voters were rushing to voting stations and that an opposition victory would threaten Israel's Jewish character. He accused three senior figures from the Arab-majority Ra'am party of attempting to steal the election. Police confirmed arrests of three people on suspicion of voter bribery, though they did not indicate those individuals held senior positions in Ra'am.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev repeated the theft allegations on social media. She wrote that opponents were trying to steal the elections and the country, framing the choice as either the right or Palestine. Arab political leaders criticized Netanyahu’s election-day messages as racist and inflammatory.

Political scientist Dov Waxman said Netanyahu is likely to argue that a coalition including Arab parties is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas stated that he has been approached by both Netanyahu’s Likud and the opposition camp led by Gadi Eisenkot. Eisenkot, a former military chief, heads the Yashar party.