Netanyahu’s bloc projected to win 54 seats, Eisenkot-led parties 48 as Israeli vote count reaches 72%

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 54 seats in the 120-member Knesset, seven short of a governing majority, as 72.4% of votes were counted in Israel’s parliamentary elections, according to Israeli media.

The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot was projected to secure 48 seats, while predominantly Arab parties were projected to win 18 seats, according to the daily Times of Israel, citing the Central Elections Committee.

Neither major bloc was projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.

The predominantly Arab Joint List was projected to win 12 seats, while the United Arab List (Ra’am) was expected to secure six.

Among individual parties, Netanyahu’s Likud was projected to lead with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21.

The Together alliance was expected to secure 11.

The Democrats and Yisrael Beiteinu were each projected to win eight seats, while Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit were expected to secure seven each.

Religious Zionism was projected to win six seats.

The results remain provisional and may change as vote counting continues.