Israel election leaves governing majority unsettled

Israel’s election has left no bloc with a parliamentary majority, while Arab parties have seats that could influence efforts to form the next government. The outcome leaves Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future and the choices of his opponents at the center of coalition negotiations, with no agreement reported on who will govern. Commentary on the results says Likud remained the largest party, but Netanyahu’s bloc did not secure enough seats to govern alone. The opposition camp was also described as short of a majority without Arab-party backing. One commentary put the anti-Netanyahu camp at 67 seats and said it was unwilling to form a government with Arab parties. Those seat calculations and descriptions come from political commentary; official results were not included in the reporting reviewed. An analysis by Md. Muddassir Quamar said turnout among Israeli Arab voters reportedly reached 75 to 80 percent and that Arab parties could become kingmakers. It identified the Joint List, led by Ahmad Tibi, and the Islamist Raam party, led by Mansour Abbas, as the two main Arab groupings. The analysis said ideological differences over Palestinians and the Gaza conflict could...