Difficult negotiations lie ahead in Israel after Netanyahu's bloc lost its parliamentary majority

Key Points:

• Israel's final election results show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies lost their parliamentary majority, with Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats, the main opposition 48, and Arab-led parties securing a historic 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
• Coalition talks will be challenging as parties from diverse backgrounds, including ultra-Orthodox, secular, and Arab-led groups, must negotiate to form a government with at least 61 seats, with debates ongoing about whether opposition parties will partner with Arab-led factions or Netanyahu.
• Netanyahu and his Likud party have made unsubstantiated claims of election interference by Arab parties and foreign actors, particularly Qatar, leading to accusations of demonizing Arab citizens, who turned out at record levels.
• The president will task a leader to form the government, potentially Netanyahu or another figure chosen by party leaders, with a new election possible early next year if coalition talks fail; meanwhile, the new Knesset is expected to convene on November 10.
• If Netanyahu loses power, it could weaken him politically amid his ongoing corruption trial and trigger investigations into security failures related to the October 7 Hamas attack, outcomes his critics say he has sought to avoid.