Netanyahu Bloc Leads Partial Israel Election Count but Falls Short of Majority

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc held a lead in Israel’s election as counting continued Wednesday, but neither major camp had secured the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

With roughly three-quarters of votes counted, reports based on Central Elections Committee updates projected Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc at 54 seats. The opposition grouping led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot was projected at between 47 and 49 seats, while predominantly Arab parties held a combined 17 to 19. The figures remained subject to change as counting progressed.

Netanyahu’s Likud was projected to remain the largest individual party, ahead of Eisenkot’s Yashar! party. The partial count marked a shift from initial exit polls, which had placed the two main blocs roughly level at about 51 seats each.

Turnout reached about 77.7%, its highest level in more than two decades. Ballots cast at military bases, hospitals, prisons and diplomatic missions were among those still to be fully counted and could alter the seat distribution.

Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot said they were prepared to form a government. With neither bloc holding a majority on its own, Arab parties could play a central role in coalition negotiations. President Isaac Herzog will ask the leader he considers most likely to assemble a governing coalition after the results are finalized.