Voting in the Israeli elections is over; Reports of a possible "deadlock" for the formation of the government Polls across Israel closed at 10:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 5, after a record low voter turnout, and voting in the country's parliamentary elections ended. With the end of the voting, the main Israeli television channels began to broadcast the first results of polls after exiting the voting areas, which indicates a possible deadlock in the formation of the future government. According to these polls, neither Benjamin Netanyahu, the current prime minister, nor Gadi Eisenkot, his main opponent, have obtained the necessary majority to form a government in the 120-seat parliament. Although according to these polls, Eisenkot's coalition won more votes. This situation may benefit Netanyahu, because he can continue to serve as prime minister of the interim government until a new coalition is formed. The announcement of the final results is expected to take several days. Given Israel's multi-party structure and the need to get the support of at least 61 representatives to form a government, smaller parties may play a crucial role in coalition negotiations. After voting at the Keren in Jerusalem, Netanyahu expressed concern about the high proportion of the Arab minority in Israel and warned against attempts to "steal the election". These statements could be signs of the beginning of long disputes over the election results. Israel's Central Election Commission announced that the voter turnout nationwide reached 44.9 percent by 2:00 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT). The number at this time of day was unprecedented since such statistics began to be recorded in 1973. These elections will be held in the shadow of the October 7 attacks and the subsequent multi-front regional wars, including two times of war with Iran. In the meantime, the issue of the authorities' responsibility and the security of the state became the central axis of the election campaign. Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.

Voting in the Israeli elections is over; Reports of a possible "deadlock" for the formation of the government Polls across Israel closed at 10:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 5, after a record low voter turnout, and voting in the country's parliamentary elections ended. With the end of the voting, the main Israeli television channels began to broadcast the first results of polls after exiting the voting areas, which indicates a possible deadlock in the formation of the future government. According to these polls, neither Benjamin Netanyahu, the current prime minister, nor Gadi Eisenkot, his main opponent, have obtained the necessary majority to form a government in the 120-seat parliament. Although according to these polls, Eisenkot's coalition won more votes. This situation may benefit Netanyahu, because he can continue to serve as prime minister of the interim government until a new coalition is formed. The announcement of the final results is expected to take several days. Given Israel's multi-party structure and the need to get the support of at least 61 representatives to form a government, smaller parties may play a crucial role in coalition negotiations. After voting at the Keren in Jerusalem, Netanyahu expressed concern about the high proportion of the Arab minority in Israel and warned against attempts to "steal the election". These statements could be signs of the beginning of long disputes over the election results. Israel's Central Election Commission announced that the voter turnout nationwide reached 44.9 percent by 2:00 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT). The number at this time of day was unprecedented since such statistics began to be recorded in 1973. These elections will be held in the shadow of the October 7 attacks and the subsequent multi-front regional wars, including two times of war with Iran. In the meantime, the issue of the authorities' responsibility and the security of the state became the central axis of the election campaign. Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.