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The political drama in Israel’s general election has intensified as vote counting progresses, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc remaining at 54 seats after 76.8% of polling station ballots had been counted by 10:58am local time on Wednesday, according to the Central Elections Committee.
The bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, known as Yashar, slipped to 47 seats.
The biggest gains at this stage came from the Arab parties. The Joint List and Ra’am, which contested the election as Arab political forces, increased their combined seat tally to 19 from 16, according to the partial results.
Three parties have yet to reach the electoral threshold: Reservists, with 2.6% of the vote; People of Israel, with 1.7%; and Haredi Public, with 0.2%. Under Israel’s electoral system, a party must secure at least 3.25% of the vote to enter parliament.
The Central Elections Committee cautioned that the figures remain provisional and could change as counting continues. Special votes cast through the double-envelope system, including ballots from military personnel and other eligible voters, are yet to be counted and could significantly affect the final results.
According to the latest figures, Likud remains the largest single party with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s Yashar with 20. The Joint List is projected to win 13 seats, while former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s Beyahad is set to secure 11.
The latest update confirmed a shift in the projected parliamentary balance, with Yashar losing one seat to the Joint List. As a result, Eisenkot’s bloc fell from 48 to 47 seats, while the Arab parties’ combined tally rose from 18 to 19.
Netanyahu’s bloc remained unchanged at 54 seats, leaving the final parliamentary balance uncertain as vote counting continues.
