Partial results from Israel’s general election show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc leading the race but falling short of the majority needed to form a government.
Local media reports indicate that Netanyahu’s Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies are projected to secure 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with 85 per cent of ballots counted.
The opposition bloc, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party alongside three other Jewish parties, is projected to win 48 seats.
Both political camps have repeatedly expressed their determination to form the next governing coalition.
Arab-led parties, which are on course to secure a combined 19 seats, could play a decisive role in determining who forms the next government. However, one of the Jewish parties has ruled out cooperating with them.
With between 430,000 and 480,000 absentee ballots, including votes from soldiers, diplomats and hospital patients, still outstanding, the final outcome may take another day or two to emerge.
