Israel Election: Netanyahu's Bloc Ahead but Short of Majority
With most votes counted in Israel's election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is slightly ahead, but still short of a majority in parliament. The Likud party, led by Netanyahu, is set to be the largest party, but neither it nor the opposition is on track to win a majority of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
According to the latest results, Netanyahu's bloc has 54 seats, while the opposition bloc, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, has 47 seats. Arab list parties have secured a record number of seats, with 19, and are ready to negotiate with Jewish opposition parties to help form a government.
The election result is messy, with no clear winner emerging, and the outcome is subject to change as absentee ballots are counted. The winning bloc needs at least 61 seats to form a majority government.
The election has been marked by high voter turnout, particularly among Israel's Arab minority, who were motivated to vote by a desire to remove the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from office and improve their daily lives. The Joint Arab List leader, Yousef Jabareen, has said that his party is ready to negotiate with Jewish opposition parties to help form a government, but has its own demands, including promoting equality and equal citizenship.
The election result has been described as a "snapshot of just how polarised Israeli society is" by Prof Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Centre at St Antony's College, University of Oxford. The outcome is likely to lead to weeks of political bargaining and bickering as parties try to form a government.
