# The blame game: How the US midterm shock is shaping Israel’s race for PM

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-blame-game-how-the-us-midterm-shock-is-shaping-israels-race-for-pm/
- Published: 2026-11-05T20:07:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T22:05:14+00:00
- Original publisher: Al Jazeera (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/5/the-blame-game-how-the-us-midterm-shock-is-shaping-israels-race-for-pm?traffic_source=rss
- Topics: Americas, Elections, Middle East, Politics, World

## Key points

- US midterm losses have weakened Netanyahu’s claim to be Israel’s strongest US ally.
- Netanyahu’s bloc fell eight seats short of a parliamentary majority.
- Arab-led parties back opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot.

## Summary

The US Republican Party’s poor performance in the midterm elections has weakened Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that he is best placed to maintain strong ties with Israel’s most important ally. As Israeli politicians try to form a government after a close election, opposition leaders are using the result to argue that Netanyahu and his policies have made Israel less popular in the US and that he should not lead the next government.

Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc won 53 seats, eight short of the 61 needed for a majority; opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc won 48, while Arab-led parties won 19 and say they will support him. Eisenkot and other opposition figures have rejected a unity government with Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog has yet to nominate someone to form a government. The United Torah Judaism party, a longtime Netanyahu ally, declined to recommend any candidate, further weakening his position.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.