As the vote count in Israel's parliamentary elections nears completion, the emerging picture indicates that the process of forming a government will not be easy. According to unofficial results reported by Channel 12, with more than 93 percent of the votes counted, the ruling bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains at 53 seats.
The opposition bloc, led by former Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot, has secured 48 seats. Based on this picture, neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition has been able to reach the 61-seat majority required to form a government in the 120-seat Israeli Parliament.
On a party-by-party basis, Netanyahu's Likud Party currently ranks first with 26 seats. The Yashar Party, led by Eisenkot, has risen to the position of the second-largest party with 21 seats.
One of the notable results of the election was the performance of the parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel. These parties, which won 16 seats in previous elections, increased their number of deputies to 19, reaching the highest level of representation for Arab parties in the history of the Israeli parliament.
With the announcement of the final results, negotiations between the blocs and potential coalition options are expected to become clearer.
News Source: 12punto
