Israeli General Election Results

This document summarizes Israel's electoral system for the 120-seat Knesset, the repeated elections from 2019 to 2022, the results of the November 2022 election, and subsequent political developments.

Israeli General Election Results

Overview

Israel's general elections are elections to select members of the Knesset, the 120-seat unicameral parliament, and use a nationwide single-constituency proportional representation system. Political instability persisted to the extent that five general elections were held over about three years and seven months from April 2019 to November 2022, and in the election for the 25th Knesset held on November 1, 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud became the largest party, leading to the launch of a right-wing coalition. Since then, through the 2023 judicial reform controversy, the October 7 Hamas attack, and the Gaza war, the political configuration produced by this election result has been influencing the overall Middle East situation.

Key Details

Electoral System

The total number of seats is 120, and seats are allocated through a party-list proportional representation system with the entire country treated as a single constituency.
The electoral threshold is 3.25%, and parties that fail to exceed it do not receive seats.
Remaining seats are allocated using the largest remainder method (a variant of the Sainte-Laguë method), and rankings within parties are determined through prior primaries or appointment by party leadership.
The prime minister is the person tasked by the president with forming a coalition, and stable governance requires the coalition to secure at least 61 of the 120 seats. Because of this structure, the participation of small parties in coalitions becomes a key variable in government formation.
The parliamentary term is four years, but early dissolution is frequent due to coalition collapse or failure to pass the budget.

The Era of Repeated Elections (2019–2022)

In the April 2019 election for the 21st Knesset, Likud and Blue and White faced each other with 35 seats each, and coalition formation failed; in the September 2019 election for the 22nd Knesset, the deadlock continued with Blue and White at 33 seats and Likud at 32. In the March 2020 election for the 23rd Knesset, with Likud at 36 seats and Blue and White at 33, a unity government was formed under the justification of responding to COVID-19, but it collapsed again with the March 2021 election for the 24th Knesset. In that election, Likud won 30 seats and Yesh Atid 17, and an anti-Netanyahu coalition centered on Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid took office, but it was dissolved in June 2022.

Results of the November 2022 General Election

The main results of the election for the 25th Knesset held on November 1, 2022, are as follows.

| Party | Seats |

|---|---|

| Likud | 32 |

| Yesh Atid | 24 |

| Religious Zionism | 14 |

| National Unity | 12 |

| Shas | 11 |

| United Torah Judaism (UTJ) | 7 |

| Yisrael Beiteinu | 6 |

| Ra'am | 5 |

| Hadash–Ta'al | 5 |

| Labor | 4 |

Likud, Religious Zionism, Shas, and United Torah Judaism formed a coalition securing 64 seats, and Netanyahu returned to the premiership. By contrast, the opposition camp centered on Yesh Atid won only 56 seats, and the coalition was assessed as the most right-wing in Israel's history.

Coalition Formation and Political Situation

The coalition launched in early 2023 promoted legislation for judicial reform (reducing the powers of the judiciary), triggering large-scale anti-government protests and movements refusing reserve duty mobilization. After Hamas's surprise attack on October 7, 2023, a wartime cabinet was formed and political conflict was temporarily patched up, but disputes continued over the prolongation of the war and the hostage issue. In November 2024, Defense Minister Gallant was dismissed and Gideon Sa'ar was appointed defense minister, reorganizing power within the coalition.

Latest Developments

In January 2025, as a hostage release and ceasefire agreement was concluded, political tensions under the wartime system partially eased, but military operations resumed after March and the political situation unfolded fluidly. The term of the 25th Knesset formed by the 2022 election runs until October 2026, and as of 2025, the next general election is scheduled for the second half of 2026. However, factors such as conflict within the coalition, the issue of military service obligations for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and handling of the budget are acting as variables, so the possibility of an early general election is constantly mentioned. In various opinion polls, Likud remains the largest party, while opposition restructuring and movements to create new parties are proceeding in parallel; the timing of the war's end and the course of the hostage issue are analyzed as having a decisive impact on the configuration of the next election. The results of Israel's general elections are drawing international attention because they are directly linked to regional issues such as diplomatic relations with the United States and the Arab world, the situation in Gaza and Lebanon, and Iran nuclear negotiations.