Israel's snap parliamentary election saw record turnout, with Jews and Arabs alike flocking to polling stations, many flying in from abroad to cast their ballots. Yet the vote produced an inconclusive result, leaving no opposing bloc with a majority in parliament. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
A celebration of democracy
President Isaac Herzog called the election a "badge of honour" for Israeli society. "It is remarkable to see how deep the desire for democracy is in Israel," he exclaimed. Indeed, at polling stations across the country, campaigners used every minute to try to change that last mind and win that last vote.
But this election left the most established democracy in the Middle East without a clear path to a new government. It produced an inconclusive result where neither opposing bloc will have a majority in parliament.
A history of fractures
Israel has never had a one-party government. Its fragmented, proportional representation system is almost designed to govern by coalition. Yet many commentators warned this election had revealed the fundamental and perhaps growing divisions that scar this nation.
Some of these fissures are not new. There were divisions over judicial reforms that led to mass demonstrations in the early years of this government. There were also divisions over how to respond to the deadly 7 October 2023 attacks - whether to save hostages or destroy Hamas. The casualties suffered by Israeli reservists in the fighting in Gaza that followed deepened tensions over the exemption of ultra-Orthodox young men from military service.
Religious and secular divides
There are tensions between the religious and the secular, divides not just of faith but of society. Should Israel's government subsidise religious study? Should some parents sacrifice their sons and daughters to defend Israel when others do not? The ultra-Orthodox now make up almost 15% of the population. Their world-view is poles apart from that of denizens of high-tech, modern neighbourhoods of Tel Aviv.
Political divisions
Benjamin Netanyahu has called for "a strong right-wing national government". His Likud party suffered significant losses, but is still on track to be the largest in the Knesset. All this for a prime minister accused of corruption, which he denies; a leader also accused of failing to protect Israel before 7 October, something he will not allow to be investigated.
Some 10% of voters backed the Jewish supremacist far-right: politicians like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who even as results were being announced was promising to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza.
The Arab parties, which represent about a fifth of Israeli citizens, made huge gains, winning some 15% of the vote, potentially giving them seats numbering in the high teens.
And then there was the opposition bloc, a mix of centre, left and right led by Gadi Eisenkot who fell short of winning the change they wanted - change that many believed was existential for the future of this country.
The task ahead
How these vastly diverging views coalesce into some form of government is now the unenviable task facing Israel's body politic - the choices and compromises they may have to make could involve fundamental decisions about the country's future.
Would Netanyahu be ready to abandon his religious allies and form a coalition with right-wingers from the opposition bloc? Would they be ready to swallow their hostility towards the prime minister and sit in his government?
Is the opposition bloc ready to abandon much of its campaign promises and co-operate with Arab parties to force Netanyahu out of office? Are the Arab parties ready to risk joining a government that could fall within months?
Yair Golan, the left-wing Democrat leader, urged the opposition bloc to form a partnership with Arab parties. "We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes," he said.
But are the people of Israel ready for such a reality?
Amit Segal, an Israeli commentator sympathetic towards Netanyahu, said the high turnout among Arab Israeli voters "reminded Jews on both sides that, after years of division, they may have to learn to sit together after all".
The risk is that this election, instead of putting Israel on a new path, has instead raised further doubts about what it is that unites its citizens. What are the common factors that bind this complex, varied collection of peoples into one polity?