Final Israeli election results confirm deadlock

Final tally shows PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and its allies eight seats short of a majority to lead country.

Final election results have shown Israel in a political deadlock once again, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponents falling short of a governing majority. Tuesday’s vote, Israel’s fourth parliamentary election in two years, was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule while on trial for corruption. He put Israel’s highly successful vaccination drive at the centre of his campaign but was criticised for earlier missteps during the pandemic and for refusing to step down after being indicted.