Vote counting is complete in Israel’s elections with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition winning a majority in parliament, Israeli media have said, Al Jazeera reports.
As the provisional results were being published on Thursday, opposition politicians met to explore options for a coalition.
With more than 99 percent of Tuesday’s ballots tallied, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported. The Arab list parties, meanwhile, held a combined 19 seats, it added.
Both Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition parties fell short of securing the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.
The final results of the Knesset elections will be certified and announced by Wednesday. Until that date, the results are subject to change.
Tuesday’s elections – the first since the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel and the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza – were widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s premiership.
