Israel's election ends in deadlock; coalition battle begins

What happened

• With neither bloc reaching 61 seats, leaders of the anti-Netanyahu camp began sounding each other out about replacing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana when the new Knesset is sworn in on November 10, a step that does not require forming a government.
• Several Israeli outlets reported Yair Lapid as a leading candidate, while Israel Hayom said the bloc has not settled on a name, with objections to one contender and another angling for a senior ministry.
• Any such vote would depend on the Arab-led parties: according to the AP, Ahmad Tibi said the Joint List was approached and would back the bloc's candidate, and Joint List and Democrats leaders have publicly urged Jewish-Arab cooperation.KSAT
• The effort is complicated from within, with reports that Avigdor Liberman has stopped taking calls from Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, questions the feasibility of the speaker swap and prefers a unity government.
• Netanyahu's camp is reported to be working on two tracks in response: campaigning against any reliance on Arab parties and courting possible defectors from the rival bloc, while Likud tries to block the speaker change.

Why it matters

The speaker sets the parliamentary agenda, so whoever holds the chair can shape which bills advance and how the house is run even before a coalition exists.KSAT

Where coverage differs

• Israeli outlets largely covered the speaker fight as an inside-politics story, naming candidates, counting votes and tracking who is talking to whom, while international reports placed it inside the wider contest over the Arab-led parties' new weight and Likud's unproven claims about the vote.KSAT

What pro-Israel voices are saying

• Listed pro-Israel commentators focused on the coalition arithmetic rather than the speaker's chair, asking how a government gets formed at all and whether Mansour Abbas has become the decisive figure.
• An i24 clip has Eisenkot saying he intends to assemble a Zionist government representing all Israelis, a formula that sits uneasily with the bloc's reliance on Arab parties for the speaker vote.KSAT