SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It has been a day since Israel's election ended, and there is still no clear winner. More than half of the votes have been counted, but neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger has secured the majority that they need to form a government. This could mean weeks of political wrangling, even as Israel remains at war on numerous fronts. Here to talk more about this is NPR's Ruth Sherlock, who joins us now from Tel Aviv. Hey, Ruth.
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: So votes are still being counted, but for now, this looks deadlocked. I mean, what are the leading candidates saying?
SHERLOCK: Well, you're right. It's been a dramatic vote count. And with no clear winner, Netanyahu, during his election speech last night, well, it sounded like he was reverting to campaigning. And his campaign, it's all about war.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Speaking Hebrew).
SHERLOCK: In the same breath as thanking Israelis for voting, he spoke of Israel's, quote, "heroic soldiers" that he said have, quote, "worked wonders that have changed the face of the Middle East." He boasted about the territory Israel now occupies through his wars in Gaza, in Lebanon and Syria, and he again advocated for renewing the conflict with Iran.
DETROW: Fair to say this has been his campaign strategy all along, to tell Israelis that these wars that he's waging keep them safe.
SHERLOCK: Yes, and that was really on display last night. I just wanted to kind of underline this by describing the scene. You know, there was pumping music at his election night event. And there were these giant screens, and they were playing these Hollywood-style but real footage of Israeli airstrikes blowing up buildings and of what appeared to be video of detonations of entire villages in southern Lebanon.
DETROW: Wow.
SHERLOCK: And, you know, this aggressive push to war is exactly what Netanyahu's leading challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, is worried about, that Netanyahu might try to strike Iran as a way of winning political support at home. In his election night speech, Eisenkot warned against this, saying, "Netanyahu, don't you dare use the security of Israel for your political needs." That's a direct quote. And, you know, as the last votes are counted, Netanyahu tonight is claiming that Israeli Palestinian parties in Israel, quote, "stole the election." That seems to be an attempt to stop the opposition from partnering with Arab-led parties to unseat him. Netanyahu hasn't published evidence of his claims.
DETROW: Ruth, tell me more about why he's doing this. Like, what role could these Palestinian Israeli parties have in forming the next government?
SHERLOCK: Well, Arab-led parties had a historical showing in this election. They represent about 20% of the population here in Israel, but they don't usually vote in such large numbers. In the town of Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem, which has a majority of Palestinian citizens in Israel - today, I asked restaurant owner Baha Abdul Rahman, what was different this time?
BAHA ABDUL RAHMAN: (Speaking Arabic).
SHERLOCK: He says, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship wanted to change what he calls a vengeful government because they've been demonized and discriminated against since the October 7 attacks by Hamas and Israel three years ago. These Arab parties say they are ready to form a coalition with Eisenkot's center right opposition. That would give Eisenkot the majority in parliament, but it remains really unclear, Scott, if Eisenkot's camp will agree to ally with him. So for Eisenkot, there's a delicate balance to be struck here now because aligning with the Arab parties could help him win, but it could also prompt some of the more right-wing partners to break ranks and throw in their lot with Netanyahu.
DETROW: That is NPR's Ruth Sherlock in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much.
SHERLOCK: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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