Severely divided, Israel failed to resolve its damaging political stalemate in its fourth election in two years.
Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his opponents have been able to chart a secure way to form a coalition government.
Polls and preliminary results show that Tuesday’s vote was a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership, which was thwarted by accusations against him and the spread of the Corona virus.
No clear winner emerged from Israel’s fourth election in two years, leaving legally embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambling to woo political rivals as he struggles to cling to power.
With about 87% of the votes counted, neither the prime minister nor his opponents controlled enough seats in parliament to command a majority of its 120 seats. Netanyahu’s fate, the partial vote indicated, could rest on his ability to co-opt a former ally who challenged him for the premiership this time — and possibly a breakaway Arab party.
It was that prospect that Netanyahu invoked in a brief speech where he called on potential partners from Israel’s right wing to join him in government.
“We must not drag Israel to new elections, to a fifth election,” he said early Wednesday to a crowd of cheering supporters from his Likud party. “We must build a stable government now!”