Given that an Eisenkot government will not lead to any major change in Israel’s foreign policy, the country will, in all likelihood, continue to find itself isolated internationallyThe immediate test will lie in the aftermath of next week’s midterms.3 min readOct 31, 2026 06:35 AM IST First published on: Oct 31, 2026 at 06:35 AM ISTYet again, the outcome of an election reflects the fragmented political landscape in Israel. Neither of the blocs, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his principal challenger Gadi Eisenkot, have secured the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Coalition negotiations could take weeks, but at least two things are already clear. One, Netanyahu has not been decisively rejected by Israel’s deeply divided electorate in the first election held since Hamas’s horrific terror attack, which the opposition had sought to turn into a referendum on security failures on his watch. His Likud party has won 27 seats, while his bloc, which includes several far-right parties, has secured 53. At the same time, it would be difficult to interpret this as a mandate for him. The bigger story, perhaps, is the 19 seats won by the Arab parties — the Joint List and the United Arab List (Ra’am) — an all-time high and almost double their current tally of 10. This makes the Arab community, which makes up one-fifth of Israel’s population, and which seems to have largely voted for political partnership with the Jewish community, pivotal to any attempt at government formation.Netanyahu’s hostility towards the Arab parties is well known, and Eisenkot, during his campaign, ruled out partnering with them, citing deep differences over issues such as national security and Gaza. An alliance between Netanyahu and Eisenkot to form a national unity government also appears highly unlikely. All possibilities remain irresolute on the table, including another election, with Netanyahu continuing as caretaker PM in the interim. This election, therefore, has revealed both the persistence of frozen political faultlines and the difficult possibilities of new alignments. Beyond the immediate jostling for power, too, the openings for change are hemmed in by challenges.AdvertisementDomestically, the record representation of Arab parties could mark a turning point in the political participation of the Palestinian citizens of Israel. A change in government, and perhaps the beginning of a process of national reconciliation, could arguably create room for recalibrating Israel’s ties with its Arab neighbours. But there are limits to such a shift. Eisenkot has opposed Palestinian statehood and advocated maintaining Israeli security presence in Gaza — positions that will hinder normalisation with Saudi Arabia and expansion of the Abraham Accords. The relationship with the US, which has been strained over the past year, is unlikely to be transformed by a change of PM, either. The immediate test will lie in the aftermath of next week’s midterms. Given that an Eisenkot government will not lead to any major change in Israel’s foreign policy, the country will, in all likelihood, continue to find itself isolated internationally.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd# Israel ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebook