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Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%.[1] The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977. However, the party could not form a government with any of the smaller parties, resulting in a national unity government with Likud, with both party leaders, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir, holding the post of Prime Minister for two years each.
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alignment 1 2 | 724,074 | 34.9 | 44 | -3 |
| Likud 4 | 661,302 | 31.9 | 41 | -7 |
| Tehiya 5 | 83,037 | 4.0 | 5 | +2 |
| National Religious Party 6 | 73,530 | 3.5 | 4 | -2 |
| Hadash 8 | 69,815 | 3.4 | 4 | 0 |
| Shas 7 | 63,605 | 3.1 | 4 | New |
| Shinui 1 3 | 54,747 | 2.7 | 3 | +1 |
| Ratz 1 3 | 49,698 | 2.4 | 3 | +2 |
| Yahad 2 | 46,302 | 2.2 | 3 | New |
| Progressive List for Peace | 38,012 | 1.8 | 2 | New |
| Agudat Yisrael | 36,079 | 1.7 | 2 | -2 |
| Morasha 6 | 33,287 | 1.6 | 2 | New |
| Tami 4 | 31,103 | 1.5 | 1 | -2 |
| Kach | 25,907 | 1.2 | 1 | +1 |
| Ometz 4 | 23,845 | 1.2 | 1 | New |
| Aryeh Eliav | 15,348 | 0.7 | 0 | New |
| Handicapped Organisation | 12,329 | 0.6 | 0 | New |
| Movement for the Renewal of Social Zionism | 5,876 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| Aliyah and Youth Movement | 5,794 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| Shiluv | 5,499 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| Independence | 4,887 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| National Organisation for the Defence of the Tenant | 3,195 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| Development and Peace | 2,430 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Has Mas | 1,472 | 0.1 | 0 | New |
| Movement for the Homeland | 1,415 | 0.1 | 0 | New |
| Amkha | 733 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 18,081 | - | - | - |
| Total | 2,091,402 | 100 | 120 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||
1 Five MKs broke away from the Alignment to establish Mapam and one to establish the Arab Democratic Party, whilst one MK defected to Ratz and one to Shinui.
2 Yahad merged into the Alignment.
3 Mordechai Virshubski defected from Shinui to Ratz.
4 Ometz and Tami merged into Likud.
5 One MK broke away from Tehiya to establish Tzomet.
6 Haim Drukman defected from Morasha to the National Religious Party.
7 Shimon Ben-Shlomo broke away from Shas.
8 Muhammed Wattad defected from Mapam to Hadash.
Due to the stalemate produced by the elections, it was decided to form a national unity government, with the Alignment and Likud holding the leadership for two years each. The Alignment's Shimon Peres formed the twenty-first government on 13 September 1984, and as well as Likud, the coalition included the National Religious Party, Agudat Israel, Shas, Morasha, Shinui and Ometz. Aside from national unity governments created at a time of war (notably the government formed during the Six-Day War in the term of the sixth Knesset, which had 111 MKs), it was the largest ever government in Israeli political history, with 97 MKs.
In accordance with the rotation agreement, Peres resigned in 1986 and Likud's Yitzhak Shamir formed the twenty-second government on 20 October 1986. Shinui left the coalition on 26 May 1987.
The eleventh Knesset also contained two controversial parties, Kach and the Progressive List for Peace (PLFP). Kach was a far-right party that advocated the expulsion of Israeli Arabs, and although it had run in previous elections, it had not passed the electoral threshold. Ultimately the party was banned after a law was passed barring parties that incited racism. The attempts made to stop Kach from competing in the next elections also affected the PLFP, as the addition of section 7a to the Basic Law dealing with the Knesset ("Prevention of Participation of Candidates List") included the banning of parties that denied Israel's existence as a Jewish state:
On this basis, the Central Elections Committee initially banned the PLFP from running for the 1988 elections, arguing that its policies promoted the scapping of Israel as a Jewish state. However, the decision was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court of Israel, and party was able to compete in the elections, winning one seat. Nevertheless, the law was not overturned, the Supreme Court merely deciding it was impossible to determine if "the real, central and active purpose [of the PFLP] is to bring about the elimination of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people",[2] and attempts were made to ban the Israeli Arab parties Balad and Ta'al using the same law prior to the 2003 elections.
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