Golan: Netanyahu Bloc Falls Short

The 2026 Knesset election results have triggered a sharp debate over coalition math in Israel. Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, declared on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc has lost the election.

Golan stated that the opposition reaches 65 seats once Arab parties are counted. He urged opposition leaders to partner with those parties to form a new government.

In a post written Wednesday morning, Golan detailed his arithmetic. "Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That's how Israeli democracy works. Period," he wrote.

Golan also addressed the potential for a Zionist-only bloc. He suggested that if Netanyahu pursues that path, he must subtract the 16 Knesset members from the non-Zionist Haredi parties from his total.

Golan framed the result as a mandate for change. "We have a majority. We have responsibility. And we have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with Israel's Arab citizens. A government that will serve all Israeli citizens," he wrote.

MK Gilad Kariv of the Democrats supported the analysis. He said Israel woke up to a "different political reality" the morning after the vote. Kariv noted on X that the right-wing coalition lost seats and likely cannot form a government in its previous configuration. He argued that a majority of voters, by a margin of hundreds of thousands, voted against Netanyahu.

Projections based on Central Elections Committee data show the Arab parties Ra'am and the Joint List will win six and 12 seats respectively. The opposition bloc, consisting of Yashar, B'Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Democrats, is projected to enter the Knesset with 47 seats. Golan's Democrats are projected to win nine seats.