Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political alliance was projected to secure 56 seats in the 120-member Knesset, falling five seats short of a parliamentary majority, as nearly half the votes in Israel’s parliamentary elections were counted, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.
According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, citing figures from the Central Elections Committee, Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 56 seats with 49.7 per cent of votes counted, while the opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot was expected to secure 49 seats.
Predominantly Arab parties were projected to win the remaining 15 seats, potentially placing them in a decisive position during negotiations over the formation of a new government.
Neither of the two principal political blocs was projected to reach the 61-seat threshold required to command a majority in the Knesset.
However, Eisenkot’s opposition alliance could theoretically secure the support of 64 lawmakers if all 15 members from the predominantly Arab parties agreed to back it, although such an arrangement would depend on political negotiations.
At the individual party level, Netanyahu’s Likud was projected to remain the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s Yashar party with 21.
The Together alliance and the predominantly Arab Joint List were each expected to secure 11 seats, while the Democrats and United Torah Judaism were projected to win nine seats apiece.
Yisrael Beiteinu was forecast to obtain eight seats, with Shas and Otzma Yehudit expected to secure seven each.
Religious Zionism was projected to win six seats, while the United Arab List, also known as Ra’am, was expected to obtain four.
The preliminary figures suggest that negotiations over coalition formation could prove crucial, with neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot’s alliance positioned to form a government independently on the basis of the early projections.
The results remain provisional, and the distribution of parliamentary seats may change as election officials continue counting ballots.