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Meretz officially falls below electoral threshold, is booted out of Knesset
Meretz party head Zehava Galon speaks at a conference in Tel Aviv, September 5, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
For the first time since its formation In 1992, the left-wing Meretz party has failed to enter the Knesset.
With some 99% of votes counted, the numbers are now official, with the party falling just below the electoral threshold. According to Channel 12, Meretz was a mere 3,800 ballots short of making it in.
Labor chief Merav Michaeli’s refusal to merge her slate with Meretz now seems like a catastrophic miscalculation.
Meretz’s dramatic fall strengthens Netanyahu’s bloc and appears to ensure he will have no fewer than 64 supportive seats for his right-wing, religious bloc.
