29.10.2026 — Election results finalized as double-envelope count ends and Qatar bribery probe shakes coalition talks
Election results and bloc math
The day opened with the counting of double envelopes in the Knesset elections, with the Central Elections Committee reporting results from 11,712 of 12,018 regular ballot boxes at 01:00. By day's end, with 100% counted, the final picture showed the Netanyahu bloc at 53 seats, the change bloc at 48, and the Arab parties at 19, with no change between the blocs. The Likud climbed to 27 seats after gaining one from Shas, while Shas dropped to 6, and RAAM reached 8 seats over Yisrael Beiteinu's 7 thanks to surplus-vote agreements.
The "Raamgate" Qatar affair
Shin Bet chief Zini presented the committee with information about suspected foreign funding of voter turnout, prompting Judge Solberg to open a criminal investigation. Police arrested four suspects — three of them school principals from the Negev — while reports pointed to Qatari money routed through education nonprofits. Politicians split sharply: lawmakers demanded investigations of Arab party leaders, Balad called it a blood libel, and Golan charged that "Qatar's real agents sat in Netanyahu's office."
Coalition maneuvering
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said the only possible coalition is "one made up entirely of Zionist parties, including the Likud without Bibi." Eizenkot declared he intends to form a new government and would not allow any delay in swearing in the Knesset. In the evening, Eizenkot met Bennett at his Raanana home, while Mansour Abbas met Golan in an official first meeting between RAAM's chairman and a change-camp leader to explore an alternative government.
Bnei Brak protests turn violent
Thousands of Haredi protesters blocked Highway 4 near Bnei Brak over the arrest of yeshiva students, and police moved in with dozens of stun grenades. Footage showed officers striking an 80-year-old man and a young man with Down syndrome lying injured on the road, with more than 30 people treated at the scene and eight evacuated to hospitals. Yesh Atid MK Yaakov Asher called for a hearing against officers who "acted with severe violence and illegally."