After Israel’s Knesset Election, Another Vote Remains Possible

The election result has not produced an immediately clear governing coalition. Tagesschau reports that it remains unclear who will lead Israel after the vote, while Handelsblatt says both political camps have so far fallen short of a majority. The final distribution of seats and the eventual governing alliance are not yet known.

The government-formation process follows a defined sequence governed by constitutional deadlines. Once the results are available, President Isaac Herzog will ask the candidate he considers best placed to form a government, according to Al Jazeera. That decision will determine which political figure gets the first opportunity to assemble a coalition.

The parties are now entering negotiations that are expected to be difficult and may continue for several weeks. EL PAÍS reports that Arab parties could play a key role in those talks, making their position potentially important to efforts to build a governing majority.

If the negotiations fail, returning to the polls is among the scenarios identified by the reporting. EL PAÍS and Tagesschau both describe another election as a possible outcome of the deadlock, but neither the success of coalition talks nor the timing of any further vote is established.

Tagesschau interviewee Woertz said the impasse may prove impossible to resolve. The same report said new fighting in the Iran war could not be ruled out and might benefit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; those comments are analysis attributed to Woertz, not established consequences of the election.